The Right Eye
by Oblivionic
Summary: On the night of the Uchiha clan massacre, Itachi uses a different jutsu to leave an impression on young Sasuke. A scarred Sasuke creates a different dynamic for team seven. (Good guy Sasuke. Sasuke-centric. Femhaku. Narusaku.)
1. Chapter 1

_The night of the Uchiha clan massacre..._

Itachi stands over the bodies of his mother and father while a scared and distraught Sasuke busts through the doors onto the gruesome and tragic scene.

"Father! Mother!"

He looks over to Itachi.

"Brother! Father and Mother are!... Why?! Who the hell... this!"

Sasuke is cut off by a kunai narrowly missing his face and sticking into the wall behind him. It begins to sink in that his brother may be involved with all the bloodshed. He raises his arms in front of his face, anticipating another shuriken.

"Foolish little brother..."

Itachi says as he activates the mangekyou sharingan. He had given this a lot of thought. Were he to use Tsukiyomi, his brother would recover from the mental trauma. He would be hardened by the loss he endured, but only by his own choice would he ever grant Itachi the punishment he seeks for the crime he committed this very night. No, it would be pointless to merely stun him and leave him with parting words. Though he loves his brother far beyond his own clan, even agreeing to take this mission to spare Sasuke, he needs to instill in him the hatred necessary to strike him down after growing powerful enough to do so. Only a permanent reminder would do. Nothing small like a few cuts; and nothing crippling like taking a leg or arm. It has to be superficial. It has to be the right eye.

**[Amaterasu!]**

At once when he opens his right eye, black flames engulf the small form of Sasuke. Clothing sizzles and shreds, falling away as it disintegrates. The boy's hair dusts away just as quickly. As his flesh sears and melts under the heat, Itachi pulls out a sealing scroll and removes the flames.

"AAAAAAGGHHHHH!"

Sasuke drops to the floor writhing in pain. Scorched raw flesh over ninety percent of his body. Only his eyes remain unburnt, his arms taking the brunt of the initial spread of the flames. Itachi approaches to sow the seed before his little brother passes out from shock.

"Remember this, Sasuke. You are weak. I could've allowed the flames of Amaterasu to consume you wholly. You are alive to serve one purpose: to test my limits once your own hatred has grown enough. The secret to obtaining eyes powerful enough to fight mine, you must..."

Sasuke blacks out before ever hearing the answer. Itachi is unaware of this and continues to tell him the location of the meeting place and the tablet that reveals the secrets of mastering the sharingan. Before Itachi vanishes from the compound, he takes one last look at his little brother, twitching and in agony. A trail of blood trickles from his right eye, tears flowing from the left eye.

* * *

Within an hour, ANBU and medic-nin flood the compound on forensic and clean-up duty. Danzo keeps his distance but oversees the ANBU, or more accurately the root members of ANBU. Despite Itachi's threats, he pays no mind to the corpses strewn about, electing to wait until the work is done to run a census on the dead.

_In a hospital bed not far away..._

Sasuke lays in a bed heavily sedated, wrapped from head to toe in medical cloth, an IV drip hooked up to his right arm. Hiruzen looks on briefly before vanishing to make arrangements.

The next day, Hiruzen shows up himself under the guise of a doctor, courtesy of a skillful henge. Noticing that Sasuke is awake but drowsy judging by his droopy eyes, he leans in close.

"Sasuke, I understand that you have been through a lot, but for your safety I need you to pay close attention. Your brother has gone rogue and killed your entire clan. Only you still live, and for you to remain so, I have taken precautions. I prepared another identity for you,"

He says, lifting a patient chart in front of Sasuke and pointing at the patient's name, which reads "Takamaru", no family name listed. Putting the chart back, he continues,

"I'm not going to waste your time telling you everything right now, but I just wanted you to know that you are officially dead. When you have recovered enough to move on your own, I want you to come see me immediately."

He turns to leave, but quickly faces back remembering something else,

"Oh, and do not visit your previous home or tell anyone your true name, okay Takamaru?"

He smiles weakly as he waits for an answer he knows Sasuke can't give, and then leaves. Sasuke, doped up on painkillers reflects briefly before falling back asleep. Were he not so heavily drugged, the dreams he'd remember would be more trauma than his spirit could take.

* * *

_One month later..._

Takamaru recovered enough to be up and about. It still hurt whenever he bumped into anything. And his left hand was slow to respond; it felt stiff and constricted. The doctors told him the amount of damage sustained there had been particularly severe, and that when he started to heal, it would scar up worse than other parts of his body. Still covered in medical wraps and wearing only a medical gown, Takamaru begins a slow trek out into the hall. It'd do his young body no good to be laying down the entirety of his recovery. However, as he about steps foot outside of his hospital room, a girl slightly older than himself walks right in front of him. He sways back narrowly avoiding collision, but cursing himself for not being attentive. Though, he is not the only one to blame. The girl proceeds several steps before stopping and turning about to meet Taka's wide-eyed gaze. She notices his shock and quickened labored breathing and bashfully approaches him.

"I'm really sorry for almost running into you! You see, I was here to check out the hospital and sort of shadow the medics here. I'm a HUGE fan of Tsunade, the legendary sannin medical ninja expert!"

The girl in a pink shirt, her brown hair in buns, offers her hand in greeting,

"Uhm, my name is Tenten. I'm training to be a kunoichi at the academy."

Takamaru stares her down with a dead look. That girl has way too much energy to be throwing around at a hospital. First thing in the morning. He lets out a ragged breath and replies without offering his hand,

"...Takamaru."

If feels foreign to introduce himself by another name. The first seven years of his life was mastery of all that was Uchiha pride. To not simply shout angrily that he is the sole survivng Uchiha and that he will avenge his clan against its murderer, his brother, is very difficult for him at the moment. Tenten's hand hangs awkwardly in the air for a moment before she withdraws it to the back of her head, nervously responding,

"Well, it was nice to meet you! I hope the medics here heal you up real good!"

And she simply runs off down the hall in the direction she was originally headed. Takamaru, on the other hand, decides that was enough activity for the morning and heads back to bed.

* * *

_Three months after the attack..._

By this point, Takamaru has already done more than walk about, as evidenced by his current regiment of pushups, jumping jacks, and other calisthenic exercise - as per the instruction of a medic nin acting as physical trainer. Having recovered a decent amount, he'd already visited the hokage and gotten the full backstory for his identity as well as instructions on his new residence and monthly allowance, as per 'the usual' (What Sarutobi referred to it as) for orphans of ninja families. The medic addresses him,

"Alright, I think you are as fit as you are going to get here. I'm going to go arrange for you to be discharged. I'll be back in a bit with a few forms for you to sign, and you'll be set to go today!"

The man smiles warmly at Takamaru, who stops his exercises to face the medic, and with a nod says,

"Thanks. I'm looking forward to eating some real food."

A light chuckle from the mouth of the medic, and then he walks off. It isn't but a few minutes before a familiar face shows up, again with far too much energy.

"Takamaru!"

Tenten runs up cheerfully but stops short of a glomp on Taka. He peers cautiously at the girl who'd been visiting on a weekly basis. At this point, he assumes she doesn't have many friends. But then again, neither does he. A slight bow,

"Tenten. How are you today?"

He'd learned to be cordial with this girl, or face total isolation. And that is far worse than forcing out a greeting. However he gets a little more than he bargained for today when she replies.

"Oh, wow, not good at all, actually. I'm pretty sure I don't have what it takes to become a medical ninja like Tsunade! Atleast not for awhile!"

That gleam in her eyes ever-present when mentioning her idol.

"But I can still be a great kunoichi!"

She pulls out a large scroll and unfurls it. The end hits the ground and keeps going, to reveal a rather lenghty summoning array. She places her hand the center and activates the scroll, spilling out numerous weapons into the hospital's courtyard.

"I know how a healed scar can break open easily, so I thought you might like to try out some of these weapons with me. Maybe a light spar or contact drill?"

Takamaru searches about the pile before settling on a cheaply built katana, its handle not even wrapped. Among the various blades, this one feels the most right for his style - a decent combination of precision and power. It isn't the most versatile of weapons, but it will get the job done. When he lifts the blade to examine its edge more closely Tenten seals up the rest of the weapons, her eyes beaming. Slightly confused, he asks,

"Aren't we going to spar?"

To which she replies, "Yes. You chose your weapon, and I get the rest!"

Takamaru is slightly taken aback, expecting a simple one on one sort of duel. How can she possibly just use all the rest of that mass of steel he sifted through? Shaking his head he walks away a few paces, turns about, and readies the sword with both hands out in front of himself. Tenten smiles wickedly as she merely holds the scroll.

"Alright! Let's start!"

She begins the fight by unleashing a few shuriken from the scroll. Having already trained extensively with shuriken before _that night, _he knocks the first three out of the air with a light motion of the sword and simply leans away from the fourth. The girl lets out a chuckle, impressed thus far.

"Ok, how about this!"

She then calls forth a training spear with its blunted tip, stashing the partially opened scroll in a side pouch. Tenten approaches slowly knowing that Taka has little or no training. She thrusts once for Takamaru's center. He weaves right and dashes forward with a downward strike. She counters by using the shaft to angle away the katana, then turning it down to bury it in the dirt, using Takamaru's momentum against himself. He quickly recovers, pulling the blade back out from the dirt. His next attack consists of a quick-step flanking manuver to her side, swinging the sword like a baseball bat at her seemingly exposed left. Tenten jumps back and leans away from the blade's arc. Still smiling widely,

"Nice! Now let's try something... unconventional!"

She drops the spear and the next weapon to appear in her hands is a kusarigama. Another chuckle escapes her as she sees the confusion in Takamaru's eyes. Taka readies his weapon just in time to block the weighted end, the chain clinking against the blade as it flies past. As he prepares to time another attack, he notices the chain abruptly stop and begin to spin towards himself using the sword as its axis. He ducks down as the chain swings above his head, the chain length shortening rapidly as it wraps around the middle of the katana. As he stands he is surprised yet again the sword is simply yanked right out of his hands, despite his grip on it. Tenten, having yanked the chain back to disarm, lets go of the kama end to catch the sword deftly as it reaches her.

"Good work, but you're just a civilian, so I wouldn't expect you to stand up to kunoichi, even one in training."

She lets out a throaty victory laugh, haughtily with her hands on her hips. Takamaru tries to save face from his wounded pride,

"Tch!"

\- looking away. Tenten, unable to remain poised, breaks out into giggling upon seeing Taka's reaction. She seals up the other weapons but approaches with the katana. Presenting it horizontally with one hand under the blade, the other under the handle,

"Here, you can have this. I was going to get you something anyway to celebrate you getting out of here."

Takamaru looks hesitantly towards the sword. 'Well, it did feel right', he thinks. He grabs onto the handle, noticing the warmth in Tenten's eyes but ignorant of the slight blush forming on her cheeks. She smiles wide again with a chuckle as he takes it from her hands.

"Thanks. I'll have to get a sheath for this."

He considers forcing a smile but doesn't think it'll do any good with his face wrapped up as it is. Tenten looks down shyly as she presses,

"Y'know... you have some potential. You should join the academy!"

'Join? I'm already enrolled...' he thinks. Though he is, or was, enrolled as Sasuke Uchiha, he supposes this identity needs to actually do so. Maybe the Hokage already did? Either way, he's going back. He has someone to kill afterall. Before the dark thoughts begin to show in his eyes, the medic nin returns with the forms. Takamaru quickly nods at Tenten, who departs,

"Bye, Takamaru! The next time we meet I hope we are both splendid shinobi!"

The medic nin looks on with a gentle smile,

"She seems nice."

He hands the forms to be signed to Taka and notices the sword.

"A katana?"

"A gift from a friend."

Takamaru replies warmly, a small grin hidden beneath cloth.

* * *

_First day at the academy. Again._

Takamaru approaches the administration entrance into the academy dressed in a grey t-shirt, black shorts, and a navy blue hooded vest. The hood is up with the edge just above where his eye-brows would be. Typical shinobi sandals. Wraps over his arms, hands, legs, feet, and his face and neck area - to conceal his burn scars where his clothing doesn't. He lets out a sigh, nervous about the attention he'll receive for his appearance. And then he enters on queue.

"Class, I'd like to introduce our newest addition -Takamaru."

Iruka motions to the boy at his side who just stepped through the side door.

"Would you like to tell us anything about yourself?"

Takamaru considers his options briefly. It would be best to blend, and so he goes with what he thinks will achieve that.

"Hi. I'm Takamaru. I lost my family to a house fire in the past year that I managed to survive. I'm here because I pick things up quickly, and I am not here to make friends. "

Iruka and the class share a moment of stunned silence before a hand rises shakily towards the back of the class. A voice meekly issues forth,

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry... f-for your loss..."

Belonging to a girl with short black hair and pale eyes. A Hyuuga, if Takamaru remembers correctly. Well, the last thing he was expecting was compassion. Taka nods dumbly before another hand shoots up, far more energetic than the last one. This one belongs to a noisy blond boy,

"Hey! So are you all wrapped up like a mummy 'cuz of the burns?!"

Iruka looks sharply at the boy and shouts him down,

"Naruto! That is not a very nice thing to ask!"

Takamaru nods again, though with a glare aimed at Naruto. That was more in line with the kind of questions he was expecting. Next to Naruto sits a clearly annoyed pink haired girl.

"Alright, you may take a seat, Takamaru. Now class, if you'll look at the board you'll see..."

Taka heads for the back of the class. That's where that Hyuuga girl is, and it is also the best place to stay out of everyone's sight. As well, his eyes are pretty good so he won't suffer from the distance. It doesn't hurt that she is sympathetic. Or that she has issues with speaking loudly. That'll give him a good reprieve from noisy blonds. And this time around, the fan girls. Though a part of him will miss that boost to his ego. As he sits down next to the girl, he extends a hand in greeting,

"Nice to meet you. And thanks."

She hesitantly takes his hand and squeezes lightly, looking down and away the whole time.

"You c-can call me H-hinata..."

Takamaru nods and releases her hand, immediately diverting his attention to the lecture. Being out for a few months will put him behind but he's sure to catch up in no time.

* * *

_Shortly before graduation..._

Well, she is at it again. And thus, so is he.

Crouching among the bushes, Takamaru watches Hinata's movements through the trees. She steps lightly on her toes, avoiding branches and dry leaves as if she simply knows they are there. Perhaps she is memorizing the immediate ground layout as she proceeds, noting her peripheral despite keeping constant focus on her target. Or that is what he concludes as she hides mostly behind a tree trunk, a troublesome blond fifty yards ahead of her. For years, He'd been trailing Hinata, picking up on her stealth skills as she frequently stalked Naruto. His bright orange jumpsuit and loud mouth made him an easy target to trail. Even though they are in the academy, Takamaru wonders why Hinata never pushed herself to pursue a harder target... like herself. More than once Taka found himself losing track of her, having to trail Naruto to find her close by again.

But today is different. They will be graduating soon and he wants to test his ability for stealth. And so he moves cautiously towards the shy Hyuuga. Carefully, slowly, he approaches. Step by nerve-wracking step. During all these years, Naruto had never caught her. And though the possibility exists that it is because Naruto is exceptionally bad at noticing things, a few of those times the number two in class, Sakura, was with him... as is the case today. A few steps away he holds his breath, feeling his steady heartbeat in his ears. Reaching out with his right hand he ever so lightly runs his finger down the exposed nape of her neck. Immediately she jumps up and turns around. Before a scream can escape her lips Takamaru takes another step forward, placing his left hand over her mouth and bringing up his right hand between them as he leans close, right index finger still extended to silently hush her. He removes his hand a few moments later and points to the scene unfolding before them.

"Naruto! Why do you keep bothering me all the time! You are so annoying!"

The pink haired girl shouts at Naruto in the same way as always, so dismissive and equally as loud as her blond counterpart. The blond, pleading,

"It's because I like you, okay?!"

Sakura is stunned by the sudden confession, but then her face deadpans.

"Is this another one of your pranks? You know I'll destroy you if it is!"

Naruto let's out a loud sigh and takes a pace towards Sakura.

"No, it's not a prank! I swear on my love for ramen!"

Well, for Naruto that kind of 'swearing' comes second only to his promise to become hokage one day. Sakura considers for a moment. After all, its not like there is anyone else to look at. But this guy is so troublesome! Pointing boldly at him,

"Then prove it! Graduate tomorrow and I'll go on one, and ONLY one date with you!"

Sakura figures that given his abilities thus far, he probably won't graduate. However, if he can pull himself out of that 'dead last' place and actually earn his headband, she sees some potential for him. Especially if she is the one motivating him to do so. Naruto on the other hand, figures that the date is as good as his despite his previous failed attempts.

"Yes!"

He jumps high into the air with a raised fist. He runs off to go train. Though he has the transformation and substitution techniques down, he needs to get the clone one down enough to graduate.

Takamaru looks at Hinata, who looks down as always when there was nothing more to see. He places a hand on her shoulder and whispers,

"Hey, I want to thank you for being a great teacher for the last few years. Let me treat you to some food. Ice cream?"

Over the last few years Takamaru developed an affinity for cold and wet things, given his aversion to fire. And girls love ice cream.

"Ye-y-y-years...?"

Hinata is quite baffled that she could've been training _anyone_ for the last few years. She'd only been attending the academy, training at the clan compound or... trailing Naruto. Her face rises in color to a bright red at this realization. Had he been tracking her in the same manner that she was following Naruto? Did that mean that he felt about her the same way she feels about Naruto? Before she can even ask,

"Yeah. Shortly after entering the academy I noticed that you liked to pursue Naruto. I figured it was because he is easy to follow, given his bright orange jumpsuit and loud voice. At first I thought you were just trying to track, but I noticed he never caught you. So I concluded that you were practicing stealth. Heh. I made you my teacher without ever telling you. When I began, I must have stayed four hundred yards or more away. But as you can see, today I have become the master."

Despite his face wraps, Hinata can see a smile in Takamaru's eyes. If all that he said is true, then he knows nothing of her crush on Naruto; and neither does he have a crush on her. This gives her great relief, and her blush fades quickly as she nods. She could use some ice cream after seeing her crush practically set a plan to date another girl. She isn't ready to quit over that, but she needs the distraction. And who knows, maybe she can learn a thing or two about pursuing from Takamaru.

* * *

_Later that night..._

"Thank you Takamaru, that was very kind of you."

Hinata bows after the two dispose of their napkins.

"If you'll excuse me, I must be heading home."

Takamaru blinks in surprise. That was the most composed he's ever seen Hinata. Maybe ice cream was the answer all along? Still, something seems off. He waves farewell, sticking around the vendor's stands for at least a minute to give Hinata a good lead before he tests himself one more time. A mischievous grin - the game is afoot!

Hinata departs for her clan's compound, but along the way she diverts towards a simple training ground. One she knows very well, having watched someone practice here for many years. The ice cream Takamaru gave her calmed her nicely and allowed her to compose her thoughts. She has no right on Naruto; but as the object of her desire, she decides to take the higher road and do what she can to help him be happy. After all, she can be happy if he is, no matter who he ends up with. In the end she is still a Hyuuga, and no doubt her responsibilities to the clan would drive her life in a direction away from him regardless. That sobering thought causes her to sharpen her eyes as she activates the byakugan. Just a little further ahead, she sees a pattern of several weaker chakra signatures forming and abruptly vanishing around a stronger one, every few seconds.

"Naruto..."

As she draws near, she hardens her resolve to do something good. She is calm, she can speak clearly; maybe not with confidence, but without fear. A few steps closer and she speaks louder this time.

"Naruto."

He turns around quickly and looks Hinata dead in the eyes. The moment vanishes as he dons his cheeky grin and chuckles nervously.

"Oh, hi, I didn't see you there Hinata!"

A slight blush rises to her cheeks at hearing Naruto say her name, but she remains determined. The chakra coursing through his network remains strong after so many attempts. And so the idea comes to her:

"...Hm. I've noticed you have a lot of chakra Naruto. I've also noticed that you don't effectively use it."

Naruto interrupts briefly with more nervous laughter. If anyone else besides the mild-mannered Hinata made light of his abilities, he would vehemently deny it with much enthusiasm. After all, he's going to be hokage some day. But the way she says it leads him to believe there's more, and he isn't wrong.

"Why don't you try making a whole bunch of clones at once, instead of just a few? Pump as much chakra in as you can muster, and try to bring forth a thousand."

Naruto blinks dumbly at Hinata. A thousand? That was hard to picture, let alone create. However, maybe there is a trick to this test. He nods in determination and forms the signs.

**[clone jutsu!]**

When the cloud clears, well over three hundred clones stand among the trees. Some look pretty bad, obviously not receiving enough chakra to properly form; but at least half of them are passable. Naruto falls down to one knee but catches himself from face-planting, sweat beading at his forehead. His tired look almost instantly re-energizes as he notices his apparent success.

Hinata looks concerned momentarily until she sees his chakra network light back up almost instantly. She isn't sure why he can do this, but there are many mysteries and now is not the time to explore them. With a smile she deactivates her byakugan and bows slightly.

"Good luck tomorrow, Naruto."

She leaves quietly, though her expression falters. As she rounds a corner, she can feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes. And then she bumps into someone.

Takamaru's wrapped hands shoot up to catch Hinata by the shoulders before she can stumble. He watched the scene unfold and was impressed. It seems his 'teacher' comment really hit home with her, for her to go out of her way to help Naruto, who would likely have failed otherwise. Though, he isn't entirely sure why she appears on the brink of tears. Perhaps it's similar to when a parent feels joy in their child's accomplishments. That begins to dredge up memories of his own mother before he shakes it off mentally. Taking a moment to look Hinata in the eyes he reassures her,

"That was very kind of you, Hinata. You are a good person."

His words intended to echo her own as thanks for the treat earlier. However to his surprise, he finds himself in a tight embrace by Hinata as she lets out a few quiet sobs. He holds in his breath at the uncertainty of how to proceed. He lets it out after a few seconds and weakly returns the hug. 'There is a certain warmth to this action', Takamaru contemplates. Again the memory of his mother resurfaces and he fights hard to keep his cool. His arms tighten around Hinata, who stops sobbing momentarily to blush in surprise. However, this is the distraction she needs to again calm herself. A few stuttering breath escape her lips before she resumes normal breathing. She releases Takamaru, who follows her lead and lets go as well. She wipes the few tears from her eyes and smiles gently at Takamaru.

"Th-thank you... Takamaru."

He nods as he struggles against his own memories that threaten to plunge him back into the torment of that night. With a wave they depart. In the distance Naruto can still be heard shouting celebrations at his accomplishment.

* * *

The next day, the test commences. Everyone passes, including Naruto, receiving instructions to come back the following day for team assignments. Much to the dismay of one Mizuki, there is noone capable of taking the scroll he seeks, and so he continues to bide his time. Naruto would have been one hell of an expendable scapegoat, but his spirits are too high at this time, somehow having passed the exam.

The following day, Iruka stands before the class and reads off his list. When he arrives to team seven,

"Takamaru!"

Takamaru's eyes widen. This is it - time to find out who he will end up having to protect on the missions to follow. He hopes they are competent...

"Sakura Haruno!"

Takamaru's eyes sink. Though Sakura is technically number two when it comes to overall academic record, he was hoping for someone more... combat-oriented.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

A resounding 'Yes!' from that blond as he once again celebrates something emphatically. Sakura blushes in embarrassment and turns away from Naruto. This was the guy she lost the bet to, the one she'd be going on a date with rather soon. Takamaru grins at the irony. Sakura was the type to go for the 'cool guy', and here she was being roped into the group with 'dead last'. But the moment passes, and for some reason he finds himself glancing back at Hinata. When her gaze momentarily catches his, she looks away quickly and begins mumbling while fumbling with her fingers. 'How odd', he notes. Takamaru doesn't catch the name of their jonin; but does pay attention enough to find that Hinata is placed on the very next team with Kiba and Shino. Hm. He begins to notice a pattern with the formations. Something to consider only in hindsight. When Iruka finishes his list, he instructs everyone to meet their jonin later in the afternoon at the designated time and location posted on the bulletin board.

_Some time past noon..._

Takamaru sits on a balcony overlooking a pathway with a few benches nearby. Down there sit Sakura. And walking the hallway approaching him suspiciously is Naruto.

"Hey!"

Takamaru turns his head lazily and sighs with slight agitation.

"Yeah, you! Takamaru! I want to fight you!"

Takamaru moves his legs off the balcony and gets his feet on the floor. He slowly rises to a standing position, dusting off his shorts. He takes a few steps towards Naruto, towering over him by quite a few inches. Leans in and says,

"Not interested."

Taka can see the wind in Naruto's sails dying off quickly. Though Naruto is rather persistent.

"I said fight me! Or are you chicken?"

Takamaru feels a twitch above his right eye. He is above such childish taunts, but that is seriously pissing him off. He grabs the sword on his back on pulls it out of its sheath. He lowers it to his side as he continues to stand directly in front of Naruto.

"Okay, but it will be to the death. Real shinobi don't play at fighting."

And that completely kills that ship. Naruto is in the doldrums. The blond backs up a few paces and shrinks away,

"You wouldn't! We're on the same team!"

Inwardly Naruto curses. This isn't what he wanted, he was just tired of hearing Sakura talking all morning about how he should be smarter like Takamaru, or as cool as Takamaru... or as quiet as Takamaru. That last one she spouted off when he pestered her too much about just when they would be going on this 'date'.

Takamaru pushes the advantage.

"Oh, I'm sure there is some formal agreement on the terms of our duel that can be notarized. And waivers to sign. And wills to write."

That last comment forces Naruto to vanish via substitution, a log appearing in his place. Takamaru grins widely as he slashes the log in two before it lands. He was waiting for that to happen. Pecking order.

* * *

_2 hours later in the all but empty classroom..._

Team 7 waits impatiently for their jonin instructor to arrive. Takamaru takes the time to contemplate team roles in various situations while Naruto takes the initiative to cure everyone's boredom. With a childish grin he grabs a dusty eraser from the chalkboard and places it at the top of the doorway, trapping it between the door and wall.

"Hee hee. This'll teach him for being late!"

Sakura, in total agreement, watches on in silent encouragement. A corner of her mouth turns up wickedly as she imagines a prank'd jonin. Or perhaps she'd see something interesting involving Naruto's punishment. Either way it's a win for her.

Kakashi Hatake pops his head through the door way only to have a soft object bounce off the top of his head and rain him with chalk dust. That was not how he imagined this going in his head; especially after the hokage put so much faith in his ability to 'take on' the troublesome Naruto. He lets out a sigh but keeps calm and composed.

"Hm. I'd have to say my first impression of you three... I don't like you."

The way he says that last part with a seeming smile beneath his face mask irks Sakura and Naruto. Takamaru couldn't care less. That he got prank'd means he doesn't consider fresh genin to be threatening. That in itself is tactical knowledge he may use later. However, it doesn't give Takamaru any confidence in this jonin's abilities as a shinobi.

_On the roof..._

"Let's begin with introductions."

Naruto chimes,

"What do you want to know?"

"Likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies. That sort of thing."

Sakura is more than reluctant to just divulge herself right then and there. They've never met this man before, so she presses,

"Hey, why don't you start us off? "

Kakashi raises an eyebrow. Sakura is certainly more assertive than he'd been led to believe by the marks Iruka left on the report cards. After a small sigh,

"Oh... well, I am Kakashi Hatake. I have no interest in telling you mine. I have a lot of hobbies. And dreams? Hm..."

Naruto eyes Kakashi suspiciously. Aside from his name, he just told them an awful lot of nothing.

"That's enough about me. Let's hear about... you."

He points to Naruto. Out of those present, he's heard the most about this boy. Especially concerning his status as the nine-tails jinchuuriki. Naruto eagerly answers,

"Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen!... and the color pink."

He says with a wink at Sakura, who rolls her eyes emphatically in response, and continues.

"I dislike waiting for ramen to cook. My dream is to become hokage, and have everyone acknowledge me... and I think you know my first hobby - the chalk dust would've been more noticeable if your hair was a different color, though."

Kakashi experiences a faint nostalgia at Naruto's proclamation of his dream, but quickly stares at Naruto with dead eyes, clearly not amused by the prank. He points for Sakura to go next.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like... uh, well... things. I dislike..."

She pauses for dramatic effect while turning to face the blond.

"Naruto. My hobbies are stuff. And my dream is to never date Naruto. Again."

Sakura blushes in embarrassment. It would do her no good to deny their wager now that Naruto has won. Yet, she feels a determination to make the next bet more personal - something she can compete in and utterly crush Naruto. That inner Sakura slips out a bit and her eyes shine with the confidence. Naruto experiences a mix of admiration and fear at this.

Kakashi on the other hand sighs once more. It seems girls at her age are more interested in boys than ninjutsu. Her fervent declaration is little more than denial to the jonin. He then points to Takamaru.

"You can call me Takamaru. I like ice cream and I dislike stupid, noisy, and inconsiderate people who may or may not have a lighter hair color."

Sakura chuckles at this as both she and Naruto both conclude that he is talking about Naruto. Unbeknownst to Sakura, she is included in this descriptive list despite her academy scores.

"My hobbies... if you knew, I wouldn't be doing them right. And as for a dream, well, I have more of a calling - to kill someone in particular, someday."

Kakashi thinks briefly, 'hm, well revenge is as good a motivator as any other, for beginners, anyway.' Then addressing the team,

"That's it for introductions. Tomorrow we will begin duties together as a team."

Naruto interrupts excitedly,

"Duties? What duties?"

"- Survival training."

This time Sakura,

"Training for our first day together? What's _that_ about?"

"Well, I say training, but it's more of a test. Against me."

Before anyone can interrupt again, Takamaru throws up a hand in a gesture to silence Naruto and Sakura. Their unnecessary questions are beginning to annoy him, so he'd rather get through this explanation more quickly by just listening. Kakashi is a little saddened as he was about to play on their curiosity to psyche them out for tomorrow, but a little respect isn't a bad tradeoff. He continues,

"Of the twenty seven graduates, only nine are to accepted as genin. The rest are sent back to the academy."

Naruto can barely contain himself and prepares to challenge this 'test', when Takamaru's eyes meet his in a menacing glare filled with killing intent. Naruto's eyes go wide in response as he keeps it down. He already had one brush with death from Takamaru today.

"The details are on this paper here. Oh, and skip breakfast. You don't want to throw it right back up!"

He vanishes, leaving behind the information.

* * *

_The next morning at the training field..._

"YOU'RE LATE!"

Both Naruto and Sakura scream out. Sakura quickly reddens at realizing she just mirrored Naruto, as Takamaru remains quiet as always.

"Hey guys, good morning!"

Kakashi sets down a clock on a stump.

"Set for noon!"

He pulls out a pair of bells attached to string.

"Your task is to take these from me by the time the alarm goes off. Those who don't have a bell by then get no lunch, and you will be tied to a stump to watch as I eat it. And if you don't have a bell, you fail, so at least one of you are going back to the academy. You can use any tools you have brought with you, like kunai..."

He eyes the weapon slung over Takamaru's back.

"-Or sword. You must come at me with the intent to kill, or you will never succeed."

Sakura gapes in shock, confused at either being underestimated or Kakashi's lack of self preservation. Naruto, however, has words to share,

"Haha! This coming from the guy who couldn't even dodge an eraser!"

Kakashi, full of wit from 'sparring' with his fellows replies,

"In reality, those who find themselves lacking, attempt to compensate with bravado. So bark way, little puppy, it won't make your bite draw any more blood. We begin when I-"

Naruto, not keen on being compared to a toothless whelp, charges Kakashi immediately. Sakura watches with shock renewed. If he could get the drop on this jonin in combat, that would definitely make him seem... cooler. Wishful thinking, that, as Kakashi merely grabs Naruto's arm and flips him around so his kunai points at the back of his own neck.

"As I said, we begin when I give the signal."

He release Naruto, who immediately jumps back several feet away.

"And go!"

Sakura and Takamaru vanish into the woods almost instantly. Kakashi approves as he states most educationally,

"The first and foremost asset for a shinobi is stealth."

He notes that Sakura is hidden well, and it takes him a few seconds more to locate Takamaru, but when attempts to track Naruto...

"Fight me!"

Kakashi turns to face Naruto, a little stunned, but mostly disappointed.

"That's... not how you do it."

"I don't care! I said fight me!"

Naruto begins his charge anew with a kunai in his right hand, Meanwhile, Kakashi pulls out a book and begins reading as he instructs,

"Shinobi lesson number one - Taijutsu."

He feels any more words would be wasted when a demonstration will suffice. Naruto stops his charge momentarily at seeing the book in the jonin's hands; but grins thinking that an opening has been created. His first strike is a slash aimed for the book itself, to which Kakashi merely sidesteps. And then, a flurry or kicks and punches. Each strike is either dodged or deflected with Kakashi's off-hand. Another kick leads to a sweep, knocking Naruto off balance. When he recovers he throws his weight into a hard right straight punch. In desperation he closes his eyes, which proves to be a fatal error as Kakashi vanishes and reappears behind him in a puff of smoke, crouching and holding his hands in a seal formation.

Sakura notices this and shouts,

"Naruto! Run!"

Naruto is more stunned by Sakura's apparent show of 'caring' than by being flanked.

"Never show the enemy your back... pup."

The next moment a pair of fingers are jammed upward into a very uncomfortable place and Naruto is airborne.

**[1000 years of pain!]**

Sakura stops dead and her expression freezes into a look of disbelief.

Meanwhile Takamaru lets out a long sigh. He wasn't expecting Naruto to achieve anything here, but even that was just embarrassing. Plotting his next move, he makes way for Sakura.

As Naruto falls from the sky into the water below awaiting him, he thinks it is time to start working together. Alone, he is no match for the jonin. If only he knew some awesome, kickass jutsu... or so he tells himself. When he climbs out of the water he spots a bell sitting by a tree nearby. 'Kakashi must've dropped it carelessly during the scuffle', he thinks. Alas, in the words of a certain admiral, it was a trap. When he steps close enough to retrieve it, a rope tightens around his ankle and yanks him upwards, dangling him just out of reach of the bell. Kakashi strolls back into view and picks up,

"Huh. I figured a prankster like you would be good at traps. As a shinobi, you must look for the meaning hidden beneath."

"Dammit!"

Naruto curses himself for such an obvious ploy.

Suddenly a couple handfuls of knives and stars embed themselves into the side of the jonin. When Naruto turns to see who did that, he is pleasantly surprised to see Sakura, wide-eyed at having maimed their instructor. However, substitution wins again. A log poofs in to replace an otherwise gory scene. At once Sakura's eyes go even wider. She just gave away her position to back up Naruto of all people. She looks left, and she looks right. No one. Ah, but when she turns around to check her flank, Kakashi is mere inches away.

"Shinobi lesson number two! - Genjutsu!"

A swirl of leaves build up into a cyclone around the young kunoichi. She feels herself go dizzy for a moment before opening her eyes to a scene at a Ramen stand. Next to her sits Naruto with the largest grin ever. He leans close, ramen broth dribbling down his front, and says,

"So, this marks our _third_ date! You know what that means, don't you...? I can't wait to take you home!"

"NEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"

Sakura screams in sheer terror. All Naruto sees after that, appears to be a seizure as she lies on the ground, twitching and frothing at the mouth. Naruto, concerned, quickly cuts himself loose and lands on his feet. And another rope closes around his ankle and yanks him right back up. The kunai in his hand falls out of reach. That was his last one...

Takamaru can't help but face-palm. A dull thud tells Kakashi all he needs to know about Takamaru's location. A second later and he's beside Takamaru with a quip,

"Enjoying the show?"

Taka quickly moves out from the bush, drawing his sword as he skids to a halt. It isn't the fact that he was so easily found that unsettles him; it's the insinuation that he was merely watching and nothing more. If Sakura hadn't charged out, just like Naruto, he'd have been able to form a plan for the two of them to get a bell. As it stands, he'll be the only one with a bell by noon.

"To watch is to learn; and knowledge is power."

Kakashi rolls his one eye.

"That's very text-book of you, Takamaru... however, that is not the lesson plan for today."

"Taijutsu, right?"

He says as he charges forward with a horizontal slash. Kakashi draws a kunai to block the incoming strike. The speed of the follow-up flurry of blows deny him the attention needed to read his book, and the exchange continues like an advanced class on the sword arts.

In another part of the training ground, Naruto manages to slip free of the second trap and land elsewhere, just in case there was a third one. He squats down near a dazed Sakura and gently pats her cheeks with both hands to wake her up. Her eyes flutter open, and when she sees Naruto inches from her face, she lets out another scream. Naruto reacts quickly and places a hand over her mouth. That first one was ear-splitting, and he doensn't need a second one this up close to finish deafening him. After she runs out of breath, he removes his hand and points to the exchange between Kakashi and Takamaru.

"We really should be working together, ya know?"

Sakura's face gains a little color back from the pale that it was as she nods in understanding.

Back to the fight - Takamaru isn't getting anywhere closer to those bells. His opponent is far too experienced to incapacitate or wear down. Ah, but what if he just cuts one loose? With a quick feint of a downward strike, Takamaru brings the blade to a halt at Kakashi's waist and short-thrusts at his side to relive him of the small metallic spheres. Kakashi is not so easily tricked, sees through this attempt, and jumps back.

"Third shinobi lesson - Ninjutsu."

His hands quickly form seals - Horse, Tiger, Serpent, Ram -

Takamaru's eyes go wide. Those signs, if he is not mistaken, will complete with monkey, boar, horse, and tiger. And with it, the fireball jutsu - the only jutsu his father taught him, the only ninjutsu he completed. Fire. Burning. The bodies of his parents. His older brother opening his eyes. The black flames consuming him, searing his flesh. The pure agony of that moment, both physical and emotional. His heart races in a fraction of a second. The seals complete and Kakashi leans back, gathering in a breath. Takamaru's eyes shift in color. The dark brown of his irises become red, two commas spin slowly around each of the pupils.

Kakashi's eyes go wide as well. For the sharingan to awaken so early is highly unusual; even more so since the clan is essentially extinct. As the boy moves forward at astonishing speed, Kakashi holds the breath and attempts to swallow back the chakra he was about to blow out of his mouth. With no time to move out of the way of the incoming thrust, Kakashi uses his left hand to deflect the blade's tip with his kunai; and with his right he grabs onto Takamaru's shoulder to hold him in place to regain himself. He lets out a cough of billowing smoke as two figures bolt past him.

Takamaru remains perfectly still in place, breathing raggedly. His eyes seem to stare right past Kakashi before losing their bright red. And the eyes glaze over, giving him a dead look. The rigidness in Takamaru's form tells Kakashi that he is standing on practiced form alone; his decreased breathing, that he is now unconscious. Whatever shock had pushed Takamaru to awaken his eyes must've been a traumatic one, for him to react as he did. Kakashi relaxes his hold and steps back. After a few seconds, Taka loosens and slumps down to his knees, then collapsing face first into the dirt.

"Takamaru!"

Naruto and Sakura yell in tandem. They rush over to their fallen teammate to check him for injuries. Sakura is the first to notice that he appears physically unharmed, and looks to Kakashi pleadingly for answers. He replies,

"He's alright, just lost consciousness after using a jutsu of his own. You two should be more concerned for yourselves - you still need a bell before the alarm goes off..."

Naruto smiles wide and holds up one of the bells. Sakura hesitantly does the same, concern still written on her face. Kakashi goes wide-eyed once again and looks to his side to see the bells simply gone. 'Well, isn't that a pleasant surprise,' He thinks. Relaxing his posture he takes a few steps towards the trio. Naruto jumps up and draws a kunai, his smile becoming a fierce, protective glare at their jonin.

"No! You can't tie him to a stump! He needs help!"

Sakura, uncertain how to act, places a hand on Takamaru's back and also draws out a kunai. She nods in agreement with Naruto. Kakashi raises his hands peacefully.

"Relax, you two. I'm not going to tie him to the stump. It defeats the purpose if he's not conscious enough to be effectively punished. Besides..."

He leans closer with a big smile showing in only his exposed eye.

"All three of you... Pass!"

Naruto's expression falters, his eyes twitching in momentary confusion. Sakura cocks her head to the side in equal disbelief, and asks,

"We pass? But I thought only nine genin would be accepted out of the twenty seven! Doesn't that mean that only one of us would pass?"

Kakashi's smile softens as he explains,

"Yes. Only three teams of three will be approved to active duty as genin. You see, above personal ability, is the ability to work as a unit under a commander. The previous candidates I tested all failed. They just did whatever I told them without thinking for themselves. A shinobi must see the meaning hidden beneath."

Sakura nods energetically.

"So, you are saying that you set up a situation guaranteeing that one of us would fail to divide us..."

Kakashi leads on,

"And...?"

"And that even though a mission may call for a sacrifice, we must be willing to do so for success?"

Kakashi nods,

"But that's not all. In the shinobi world, those who don't follow 'the rules' are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are lower than trash. Even though you two completed the objective, had you left Takamaru behind I would've failed you. So, congratulations! Tomorrow we really begin our duties as team seven!"

Naruto grumbles for the second time,

"Duties? What duties..?"

Kakashi ignores him as he vanishes.

Sakura checks back on Takamaru and lets out a chuckle. Smiling, she turns to Naruto,

"Shhh. He's sleeping. Let's leave him be."

Her expression turns to slight disgust,

"And let's get that date out of the way. It's the only one you'll ever have with me, and I'd rather get it over sooner than later."

Naruto chuckles nervously.

* * *

_Later that evening..._

Maybe his psyche is adapting to shock. All the dreams he'd been having were pleasant ones, involving sweet ice cream in a winter wonderland. He never saw snowfall before, but in his dreams they fell like dandelion wisps. And there was a female presence there, comforting in a non-maternal sort of way.

_"T-taka... maru..."_

That's strange. It didn't speak to him before this dream. And why did it have a slight stutter? That question answers itself in a slight pressure sensation against the top of his head. Someone is poking him. His eyes open slowly to see a girl with shorter black hair and pale eyes. He groans out,

"Hi... Hinata..."

Another groan as he shifts on his stomach. How long was he out? Judging by the color of the sky, the sun is just past set.

"D-did you... pass?"

Hinata asks as nicely as she can. Takamaru feels the sword in his right hand and something foreign in his left hand. Always stiff to move, he opens the left hand slowly to reveal a couple of bells. With a hidden smile,

"I guess I did. What about you?"

Hinata looks down in her usual shy manner, though not dejectedly.

"Yeah... Kiba, a-and Shino, too..."

Takamaru considers this carefully. If Kiba passed, then maybe the test wasn't that hard. Then again, if they were to be a team, it's possible that the pass or fail would be determined by teamwork ability. And suddenly, he isn't so sure that he passed. Sitting up, he reaches up to his forehead to check for the steel-plated headband. It is still there. He doubts he'd be allowed to to keep it if his team failed. The question of just how they passed can be answered when he sees the two others tomorrow.

"That's good."

Hinata looks up from the ground secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of Takamaru's eyes without him noticing. No such luck. Their gazes meet and Hinata looks back down immediately as she reddens. This is very unusual for her to be so visibly shy around anyone but Naruto. But no, that can't possibly mean anything. This is just more positive interaction than what she is used to. That's all.

"And thanks for waking me up. You are a nice girl."

To Takamaru, he is just being polite and stating an obvious fact of Hinata's nature. To Hinata, it feels like she just met her monthly quota of positive affirmations. She feels another blush coming on and stands up quickly to turn away from Takamaru.

"G-g-g-good night!"

And she's off in a blur. Takamaru rises with a chuckle, thinking how odd Hinata is, but pleasant. He heads home to prepare. After all, tomorrow is a new day.


	2. The Bridge pt 1

_A/N: Feedback is much appreciated, praise and/or criticism. _  
_Also, thanks for the review, Mal. I don't think you will be disappointed._

* * *

_Shortly after the bell test..._

Standing before the old man's desk, Kakashi places both hands upon its surface, leaning forward.

"Okay, Third... what trouble have you dropped into my lap this time?"

Taking a long drag off his pipe before responding, Hiruzen,

"... I'm guessing you are referring to Takamaru, as you already knew about Naruto, as does most of the village."

"Of course. That burned boy awakened the sharingan in the middle of the survival exercise. As all the other Uchiha besides Itachi are dead, am I to assume you found a forgotten line?"

Hiruzen takes another long hit to calm his rising nerves,

"That is correct. The Uchiha are a founding clan of the village. I thought it was a tragedy, what Itachi did. But ultimately unavoidable. That is why I have brought that boy to the village. When he is ready, he will inherit the estate and standing of Uchiha. With him, the clan can be reborn; not like a phoenix rising from the ashes, no. That would be saying the reborn clan would be the same in essence. This will be more like a reincarnation. A second chance to break free of the curse of hatred."

Kakashi leans back away from the desk and reflects a moment.

"That is rather ambitious a plan, Hokage. Are you sure I am the man to train this future clan head?"

The hokage nods, then,

"Only time will tell if this boy can become worthy of the name he will inherit, but I have faith. That is all we can really do - hope. "

Kakashi nods in agreement. He isn't the idealistic type, but the old man is right. He supposes the bigger reason for being selected is for possessing a sharingan himself. And with Takamaru already having awakened his, he supposes he can't put off training him for long. After a small half-salute wave, the jonin vanishes.

Hiruzen inhales deeply of his pipe once more. While it is sad to deceive one of his more trustworthy jonin, it is necessary. The only ones who know that Sasuke lives are himself and Itachi. And while he hasn't the faintest idea why the elder so maimed the younger, that the younger lives means Itachi has some purpose in mind. Given his extreme loyalty to the village, he can only _hope_ it is for a noble purpose.

* * *

_Early the next morning..._

Takamaru pulls out an outfit he was saving for when he started missions as an officially recognized shinobi. Genin rank be damned. It is a classic, if not somewhat generic navy blue outfit. Loose robe and hakama tied with a sash. Steel mesh shirt underneath. Cloth bracers, and painted shin guards. Shinobi sandals. And to top it off, a hood and cloth face mask to conceal his identity. Only his eyes would show below the leaf-marked metal headband. This sort of outfit, while screaming 'traditional' and 'unoriginal', also serves to cut down on the moment of time he spends every morning wrapping himself in white cloth wraps. Only his hands and fingers will have to be done. As well, wrapping on his hands, saves it from his sword; of which he leaves undecorated and as simple as the day it was gifted to him.

Speaking of which, his second task for the morning leads him to a weaponsmith's shop. The years of training with this sword alone has worn heavily upon its edge. As he enters through the double-doors, he first notices the blinding sparks flying off a grindwheel in use. Behind it, an old man works an axe-head. Looking away allows his gaze to wander around the room. Several different swords, spears, and over-sized pole-arms hang on hooks, displayed like trophies. Off in one of the corners is arranged many types of leather holsters, baldrics, and hangers, many vests and chain shirts. Beneath the counter, a glass display featuring different makes of throwing knives and stars. And behind the counter, a girl with brown hair tied into buns, a metal headband on her forehead with the leaf's symbol. She forces a smile as she greets,

"Preparing for a mission? As you see, we have nothing but the finest crafts here - top of the line, money back guarantees, and shinobi tested and approved!"

Takamaru's left eye twitches just a bit. That rambling made little to no sense as a single sentence. A whole lot of pretty language for sales all forced together. Nevertheless, he instantly recognizes Tenten, despite her growth spurt and subsequent maturity. Given her fake smile, it seems he is unrecognized as of yet. Good, this could be fun. He coughs to clear his throat and speaks in a lower tone, roughly,

"I'm actually here to maintain my current gear. I need my sword sharpened."

He removes it from the sheath on his back and lowers it carefully onto the counter. Tenten looks it over for a moment, as Takamaru stares intently at her face. He was waiting for that moment of recognition when she saw the blade, but it never comes.

"Oh, this is a training blade. Hardly mission quality, but we can get its edge back within a minute or so if you have the time. Or I can sell you a better sword."

Takamaru sighs,

"...Well, it has a bit of sentimental value, and has served me well for the past four years or so..."

Again he waits for that eye-widening expression. And again, nothing.

"Ah... I can see it. This must be the first time you've brought it anywhere. It's very dull, but still quite full in shape, like its never been ground."

Taka is getting a little disappointed at Tenten's lack of memory. He places his hands on the counter and leans forwards to speak, when Tenten interjects,

"Oh, please, hands off the glass, Takamaru. I have to keep the counter clean, _at all times_."

Taka's eyes go wide. She knew it was him the whole time? With a blush, Tenten answers his unasked question,

"It's your eyes... they're the same as I remember."

She giggles lightly as Takamaru removes his hands from the glass and stands straight. He answers dejectedly, having been so outplayed,

"Yeah, I suppose that would be the one thing you'd remember about me, as everything else was wrapped up tight."

Meanwhile, the man at the grindstone halts his works and lifts his goggles, addressing Tenten,

"If he's your friend, he can get the friend discount - five percent."

Tenten and Takamaru share a look of sarcastic gratitude before Tenten speaks.

"I'm glad you held onto my gift for so long, but please, get a _real _sword! I wouldn't be a good friend, let alone a weapon specialist, if I didn't get you equipped properly!"

Tenten's expression slips into concern, partly for Takamaru's poor state of weaponry, and partly for her pride. Takamaru shifts his stance to the side as he considers what she suggested. A compromise comes to mind.

"Hm... I'd like to use this sword. However, you make a good point. I'll take one of your stock-quality katanas off the wall..."

The old man abruptly inserts,

"Nothing 'stock' about anything here!"

Takamaru corrects himself,

"Fine, one of your cheaper swords, then. And as a special favor, I'd like to you turn this katana into something useable. I'll pay you in the form of one request. It can be anything. I don't have much to offer now, but you don't need to ask as soon as you finish, either."

Tenten smiles warmly and extends an open hand,

"It's a deal!"

Takamaru shakes on it, nodding.

"Oh, and it'll be five thousand for the 'cheap sword'. Five percent off makes it forty-seven fifty."

Takamaru's gut sinks a bit. Five thousand for the 'cheap' price? Maybe he'd walked into the wrong store. However, it is a good store with a good eye for the talent of its employees. He pays the amount and receives the sword. It is hardly any different than the training blade, seeming of higher quality steel, and it's edge has been honed extensively. Near the hilt, the maker's mark reads 'ten', and stylishly attached to an upside-down 'ten'. With a grin, he slings it over his back. When Tenten grabs the gift sword off the counter,

"And don't be a stranger, Takamaru. We're both shinobi now!"

Takamaru asks, remembering,

"_Splendid_ shinobi, though?"

Tenten pinches the bridge of her nose with her free hand, as if fighting off an abrupt headache.

"Ugh! Please don't use that word."

Takamaru nods, smiling. He doesn't yet know the reason for that, but has a feeling it will be an entertaining one. As he turns to leave, Tenten shouts,

"See ya later!... And don't get killed!"

He waves nonchalantly, walking off. Tenten shakes her head as she chuckles, for she knows what awaits him.

* * *

_At the training field..._

"Where the heck is Kakashi now?!"

Naruto paces and pouts. An irritated Sakura crosses her arms and stares off into the distance as Takamaru approaches. With a wave,

"Yo."

Naruto and Sakura look quizzically at Takamaru, slow to recognize their companion in a new outfit. He waits a moment before Sakura, being more astute, finally takes notice.

"Oh... hi, Takamaru."

Naruto peers at Takamaru suspiciously, though Takamaru pays him no mind as he asks,

"So... how'd it go?"

"Go?... We passed, obviously!"

Takamaru rolls his eyes in response. Obviously, indeed.

"Not that! I meant, how was your date at Ichiraku's?"

Sakura's face practically erupts steam as she stammers,

"Wha-w-w-what are you talking about?!... Weren't you out cold for most of the day?!"

Naruto, meanwhile, bashfully remains silent, looking at the ground.

"Tch. Of course I was. That didn't stop me from knowing what you two were up to."

Takamaru explains, recalling silently the past few years of tailing the blond.

"And besides. I know Naruto's habits better than just about everyone in the village... _and definitely more than I ever wanted to."_

That last bit he mutters under his breath. Naruto, thinking he was just insulted,

"Hey! If you've got something to say about me, you can say it to my face!"

He takes up an aggressive posture only to shrink back behind Sakura the moment Takamaru's right hand touches the handle of the sword on his back. Takamaru snorts derisively at Naruto's cowardice. Sakura, on the other hand, stands firm with a raised eyebrow.

"Intimidating little pups now?"

The trio turn to face Kakashi, fresh on the scene. A wave of nostalgia hits the jonin like a brick wall as he takes in the dynamic between the three. The only difference in his team was which side the kunoichi took - this time, it was that of the boisterous loud-mouth.

Takamaru quickly brings his hand to his side and meets Kakashi's gaze.

"Hierarchal structuring."

Kakashi looks away a moment in thought, then nods. Every team needs its leader. For now, it is him; but later, it will likely be Takamaru. Changing the topic to something more pertinent,

"Okay, today we get our first mission as Team Seven..."

* * *

_In the hokage's office, several D-rank missions later..._

"Hey, old man! I'm sick and tired of all these so-called missions! Baby-sitting, weed-pulling, log-splitting... cat retrieval!"

Sakura lets slip, her arms still bleeding into the bandages on her arms from that last 'mission'. Naruto, feeling like the wind has once again been let out of his sails, merely steps up next to Sakura and nods vigorously. Takamaru's eyes dart sideways. He wasn't sure that he was hearing it right, but that was Sakura... maybe she's been spending too much time around Naruto. And he's not the only one to think so, as 'the old man' shuffles together a stack of papers before replying,

"Hm... well, you are all just genin. We assign missions based on skill levels, and for the genin rank we issue D and C-rank missions-"

Before the Hokage can continue,

"Yeah, yeah, I already know this and so does the rest of the team,"

She says with particular emphasis on Naruto, patting him hard on the back which forces him to nod with renewed vigor.

"But all we've gotten is D-ranks. How about a C-rank? Haven't we been good little shinobi until now?"

Sakura abruptly changes tactic from strong-hand to puppy dog eyes. Naruto joins her for added effect. Takamaru just sighs, fighting back the urge physically distance himself from the other two. Though, they aren't wrong...

"Hm. Well I suppose genin aspiring to rise in rank need to be tested..."

He pulls off the form sitting on the top of the stack.

"It just so happens we have a bodyguard request, for, uh- Hey! Why don't you come in and introduce yourself!"

On queue, an old bearded man dressed for day travel walks through the doors. He stops before the trio and sips an unknown fluid from a jug.

"Are these _runts_ supposed to be able to protect me? They're just a bunch of snot-nosed brats!"

The Hokage removes the pipe from his mouth,

"Now now, Tazuna. these three are full-fledged shinobi - they've earned their headbands and will protect you even at the cost of their lives."

Kakashi chimes in,

"And I'm their jonin. I'll be accompanying them on this mission."

Tazuna grunts, unimpressed.

Naruto jumps forward to assault their charge when Sakura gets a chokehold on him.

"Yeah! We're ninja! If you doubt us so much, just give me three seconds alone with ya!"

Sakura, despite wanting to let him at it, thinks better on account of being in front of the hokage, and just now getting their first C-rank. Takamaru reacts differently. He takes a step forward and bows politely,

"No harm will come to you, you have our word."

He'd learned awhile ago that a few words, though forced, could ease things along. And this rusty cog needed some grease. Tazuna merely nods. Atleast this boy before looked the part of ninja. With a beckoning wave, he heads out the door.

_At the village gate..._

The five set foot beyond the threshold. Only Naruto pauses, though before he can say a word, Sakura grabs his hand and drags him onward.

"Come on! We can't wait around for you to shout your dream to the world one more time!"

Naruto scoffs,

"But I'm going to be Hokage one day, and everyone will-"

"Yeah, yeah, and someday I'll be the next Tsunade!"

Naruto goes silent. He knows when he is fighting a battle he cannot win. He'll take the small victories where he can, like reslishing the fact that Sakura is holding his hand, even if its not gently.

Takamaru takes point. Though his skills have honed him for the more traditional line of shinobi work, he is itching for some battle. Bandits. Other ninja. Hell, even some wild boar would be fine at this point. As the group passes by a few puddles, Kakashi glances down casually.

_Moments later..._

"One little piggy!"

A spiked chain wraps itself around the jonin. The demon brothers on either end of the chain pull it taut and rip their target to shreds. Naruto draws a kunai and stands shakily, trying to determine the nature of the threat. His eyes go wide at the dismemberment of their jonin.

"Stand behind me!"

Sakura shouts at Tazuna. Her composure is significantly cooler than her blond counterpart's. Weeks of watching Naruto's back around Takamaru has honed her protective instincts.

Takamaru indulges a hidden grin as his eyes shift to red. He takes to the air to land on the branch of a nearby tree, drawing out his sword quietly

"Two little piggies!"

The two brothers rush Naruto with their chain hanging loose between them. As it stretches in preparation to throw multiple loops around the blond, a shadow falls overhead.

**[Sword art: Death from above]**

Takamaru drops from the air sword first. The tip of the blade sinks into a chain link near the center and forces the slack to the ground. He lands with one foot on the chain and yanks his katana out of the soil. The two brothers meet to cross paths, triggering the mechanisms on their gauntlets to retract the chain. This causes the two to each stumble back a step in surprise, only to hesitate long enough for Takamaru's next attack. With a swift upwards cut, he turns his body one way; then completing the turn with a down-slice. He steps back before the two can comprehend what just happened, swinging his sword down one more time. Red fluid sprays off the steel with the momentum before the katana returns to its sheath in a flourish.

A moment later, both of the demon brothers fall to the ground in pain. The triggered chain gauntlets hit the dirt at the same time, free of their wielders. The chain clinks lightly around Naruto.

Kakashi appears before the two and yanks them to that same nearby tree. Though to his surpise, they were literally disarmed. With a look towards Takamaru, he speaks,

"Ninja from the hidden mist - the missing ninja known as the demon brothers. Chuunin level."

With another glance towards Naruto,

"If I'd known you would freeze up like that, I would have acted quicker so that you wouldn't have gotten injured."

Naruto eyes the scratch on the back of his hand, still shaking.

"Geez, Naruto! That's not what a hokage would do!"

Sakura chimes in, wounding Naruto as she knows best with her words. Kakashi waves her off,

"I noticed them earlier, but I had to be sure of who their target was - me or Tazuna. Speaking of, would you like to tell us why there are ninja after you?"

Tazuna looks away ashamed, mumbling.

"What was that, we couldn't hear you..."

"I said they were probably hired by Gato, the man who least wants me to build that bridge."

Kakashi sighs.

"_The_ Gato? Billionaire shipping magnate?"

Tazuna nods,

"Yeah, and if I die, that bridge won't be completed, and his stranglehold on the land of waves continues..."

Kakashi thinks carefully. Sakura breaks the silence.

"Hey, if there are enemy shinobi, that makes this a B-rank mission! And Naruto is injured, so we should probably go back and get help."

Tazuna speaks out,

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to get you all killed or anything. Besides, when I get killed before returning I'll only have my cute ten year old grandson to cry for me. And his mother, to go on hating leaf ninja for the rest of her life..."

Kakashi sighs again,

"Fine, we'll continue the mission. Besides, I could probably handle it myself. Though, Naruto, you really need to bleed that wound or you'll die. Their chain was poisoned."

Naruto takes the kunai in his off hand and stabs it deep into the wound. Sakura reacts as one would expect,

"Naruto, are you effing insane!"

Kakashi sweat-drops, and Takamaru face-palms.

"You only need to drain a little bit. If you lose too much more blood you'll really die!"

Naruto freaks out at Kakashi and waves his hand about getting blood everywhere. Kakashi quickly grabs his hand and wraps it, noting Naruto's healing rate before doing so. Sakura and Takamaru work on tourniquets for the brothers, who sit bound to the tree. Takamaru turns towards Kakashi to ask,

"Why aren't you interrogating these two..."

To which Kakashi replies,

"Even as missing ninja, they are trained by the mist. They'd die before they told us anything useful, and I'm not with _that_ department. Besides, we're close enough to the village that a sentry will find these two within the next few hours."

Takamaru nods in understanding. The team continues their mission.

* * *

_After disembarking from the ferry that carried them into the land of waves..._

"Over there!"

A kunai flies into the bushes, flushing a few birds from their resting place. A bandaged hand finds its way onto Naruto's shoulder. A pair of menacing eyes glare into the back of the boy's head.

"Naruto... what do you think you're doing?"

The blond tenses up and freezes in places. He reacts as if it were the very hand of death upon him.

"Uhm... preventing another ambush?"

The hand tightens on his shoulder. Takamaru speaks authoritatively,

"Then use your eyes. When you shout, you only allow any potential enemy to better hone in on our location and set up an even better ambush, than if we arrived upon them suddenly."

Sakura nods, adding,

"Listen to Takamaru! We don't need to get ourselves killed on our first C-Rank mission, Naruto!"

Takamaru turns,

"And quiet down, Sakura. The advice includes everyone, not just cowards eager to prove themselves otherwise."

Hearing that, a fire lights itself inside Naruto. He steps away out of Taka's reach and turns to face him, pointing his index finger right at Takamaru's chest as he whispers loudly,

"I'm no coward! If you want proof, I'll take you right here, right now!"

Before Takamaru can properly re-establish 'ranking', Sakura quips,

"So uncool, Naruto, getting all riled up like that..."

Naruto's expression sinks as his posture slumps. Takamaru draws his sword suddenly and dashes past Naruto. His blade sinks into the bush and a light squeak escapes whatever he struck. When he yanks out the creature, a dying white rabbit twitches in his grasp before going still. Naruto, who saw his life flash before his eyes when he saw Takamaru seemingly charge him, jumps at the chance to knock him down a peg or two.

"Ha! Who's jumping at shadows, now?!"

A mean look is all he gets from Takamaru. Kakashi, meanwhile, pieces together the meaning of a white snow hare in the summer. They are not alone. A slight whistling in the air is all the warning they get before Kakashi shouts,

"Get down!"

Everyone drops as an over-sized blade spins past just above them, embedding in a nearby tree. Had they been standing, at least the first one of them would've been nearly cut in two. Standing upon the hilt of this large sword, a man in foreign attire, his mouth and neck wrapped, and his headband sideways on his head.

"Zabuza of the hidden mist. You're a missing ninja. No doubt here for Tazuna. Well, I can't allow that!"

Kakashi reaches for his headband to uncover his left eye when the demon responds,

"And you must be Kakashi of the sharingan. The copy cat. If you would kindly hand over the old man, I won't have to kill you and your brats."

Naruto was seeming jumpy, so as he lunges forward it is to no one's surprise, and least of all Sakura's. To which she responds by throwing him to the dirt face first and placing him in an arm-lock.

"What are you, stupid?! You'll just get yourself killed by charging in!"

Zabuza tilts his head towards the commotion,

"Listen to your girlfriend. Besides, you're not even real shinobi anyway."

Sakura's mouth opens wide as her face goes deep red instantly. In reaction, she torques Naruto's arm further, causing him to fight back a pained scream. Takamaru, unhindered, asks,

"What do you even mean by that? We passed our village's academy and their final test-"

Kakashi answers, still prepared to jump into conflict,

"He's merely comparing your test and his own village's brutal initiation."

Zabuza's head tilts back as his eyes squint. Despite his wraps, his expression takes on a sadistic grin,

"Ah yes. Good times. Over a hundred of dead at my feet. And to think they only asked them to kill one to pass..."

Kakashi speaks quickly,

"He's the reason they don't practice that anymore - killing a comrade to become a ninja. Feh. Only in the village of the bloody mist..."

The Jonin lifts his headband to reveal his sharingan. Takamaru's eyes go wide at seeing this. 'He really has a sharingan?!', Takamaru asks himself.

"Well, it seems you have to die before that bridge-builder. Can't say I didn't ask nicely..."

Zabuza vanishes from the tree; the next moment appearing on the surface of a nearby lake. One hand held high, the other before his chest.

**[Hidden mist jutsu]**

The fog rolls in over the lake around Zabuza. As it spreads onto the bank and over team seven and their charge,

"Stay close to Tazuna! He's a master of silent killing and not even my sharingan can see him in this mist!"

Sakura releases Naruto and stands near Tazuna. Naruto does the same. Takamaru, with his blade already out, takes the flank and allows his eyes to shift to red. In the mist, it would be difficult for anyone not standing directly in front of himself to notice. On the edge of his perception he catches the presence of another, in the trees to the south of them - a smaller figure than Zabuza, but otherwise indescribable amongst the thickening moisture in the air.

"Eight points - liver. lungs. spine. clavical vein. throat. brain. kidneys. heart. So many choices..."

Takamaru feels the raw killing intent emanating from the mist's demon. However, since he'd already faced death once, the fear falls away from him like sand. Naruto, on the other hand, shakes like a leaf in a hurricane; and Sakura fares only slightly better, focused on protecting their client. Kakashi's head turns to look back at Naruto,

"Don't worry. I"ll protect you. I won't let my comrades die!"

In the next instant, Zabuza lands in the middle of the group with his sword held out and high, ready to cleave the whole lot of them. Kakashi moves to intercept, grabbing the man and his blade. As the other four jump back to clear themselves of the assassin, Zabuza re-initiates his attack with brute force and cuts Kakashi in two at the waist. Water sprays away in a clear arc as the water clone dissipates. Another Kakashi appears behind Zabuza and holds a kunai to the side of his throat.

"Impressive. You copied my water clone jutsu even through the mist..."

Kakashi stabs into the clone to dissipate it, only to himself be splatter on the ground as another Zabuza stands behind that Kakashi clone. That clone speaks,

"Did you think it would be this easy?"

The clone dissipates itself and Kakashi ducks, narrowly avoiding the large sword's horizontal slash. Caught off balance, Kakashi finds himself side-kicked away towards the lake. To halt pursuit, he lets out some caltrops. Thinking he'll be safe to recover whilst in the water proves to be a damning error. Standing next to him on the lake,

**[Water prison jutsu]**

Zabuza traps him in a sphere of water. Turning towards the genin with a wide expression,

"Run!"

The sound comes out distorted and garbled through the water, but the team seem to understand the message well enough to... stay right there, much to his dismay. Zabuza initiates another water clone, which rises out of the lake beside him.

"And now to take care of the children."

Takamaru readies his sword in front of himself with both his hands. Even so, the clone's movement can only be tracked, and not countered, as it rushes upon Naruto and delivers a devastating kick to the blond. He flies several feet away, minus one headband.

"Naruto!"

Sakura shouts. To Takamaru, her facade of indifference towards the boy is completely gone. Torn between protecting him and Tazuna, Takamaru takes up one of the causes for her. Rushing forward with his sword, he forces the water clone to backpedal several paces to avoid a few quick slashes. Takamaru backs up and kneels down next to Naruto.

"Can you move?"

Naruto slams a fist into the ground,

"Dammit! Why can't I do anything?"

"Because you are weak."

Takamaru answers all too quickly, with words echoed in his mind thousands of times. And at that moment, he hates himself.

"Well, at least I won't die a coward!"

Naruto jumps up and charges the water clone. Takamaru rushes alongside him with his katana held low and back, ready to deliver a strong sweeping slash. Naruto moves in low with a kunai drawn, aiming his attack for the knees. The clone responds by swinging the massive steel slab downwards, hoping to nail two birds with one stone. To its surprise, Takamaru meets the sword with his own. The momentum from the charge added to the home-run swing causes it to veer off course. In the next split second, the clone jumps back to avoid the initial attack by Naruto. The blond brings up the object he recovers from the ground, his headband, and ties it back on.

"And I'll die a proud shinobi of the leaf!"

Takamaru nods in approval. That's the first thing Naruto's ever said that Takamaru can respect. Sakura doesn't quite share his view, however,

"Hey! No dying! If we all get through this, you can have another date!"

Naruto smiles wickedly,

"Better make it two."

"Don't push it!"

Sakura shouts boisterously, but for once it's inner Sakura that reacts shyly as she considers the implication of one more date. Tazuna and Kakashi both go blank. Was this a good time for such discussions? Zabuza is not amused.

The clone moves swiftly towards the two and brings his blade swinging in low and fast. Naruto jumps high while Takamaru rolls low. Naruto plants one foot right on the clone's head before launching himself higher. Before the clone can snatch Naruto out of the air, Takamaru completes his roll and rises with his blade, slicing into the clone and causing it to pop like a water balloon.

"Take this!"

Naruto shouts, as always telegraphing his attack. He fills his hands with kunai and launches them towards Zabuza. The Demon's eyes go wide for a moment, but only at so grossly underestimating the brats that he created only one clone to kill them with. He draws a kunai of his own and hops to avoid the low kunai, knocking away the higher end of the spread. Naruto lands in a kneel while Takamaru moves to his side, raising his sword to point at Zabuza.

"Are we real shinobi in your eyes yet? Because we are in mine."

When he says that, he waits for the precise moment that Zabuza's eyes lock onto his to exert a minor hypnotism.

The moment Zabuza notes the sharingan in the boy's eyes, he snaps his head to his right to see Takamaru in the water prison; and Kakashi standing next to Naruto. He isn't sure when it happened, but he must've had a genjutsu cast on him before he used the water prison. It would be easy for a jonin to swap positions via substitution.

"Impossible!"

He shouts, as he releases the prison jutsu and dashes across the water towards the two genin, drawing his sword back as he does so.

"How kind of you..."

Kakashi comments as he stops the charge dead at the water's edge, gripping Zabuza by the shoulder with one hand, and the flat of his sword by the other. Before he can strike, Zabuza jumps back and quickly forms a long series of hand signs. Kakashi forms a short series of his own, causing his right hand to glow with chakra briefly before igniting with electricity.

**[Lightning Blade]**

'Shit,' is all Zabuza has time to think as he abandons his jutsu. Wet as he is, he cannot dodge the current as Kakashi touches the water with his hand. The bolts arc through the water, casting a blue glow below the surface while sparking around the demon of the mist. Kakashi pulls his hand from the water and performs the seals again. And again his right hand lights up.

"Had enough?"

Zabuza kneels on the surface of the water as steam rises from the flash-boiled moisture on his body. His eyes go wide as Kakashi prepares a second shock treatment. At once he rises and pushes off the surface of the water. He lets out a fierce cry, charging with his blade once more. Kakashi has his own 'oh shit' moment, not thinking that anyone would be ready for another go after the first taste of his lightning element. He steps back and readies to launch his hand forward as soon as Zabuza enters range. Just before the demon reaches land, two senbon whiz through the air and strike him in the neck. His body instantly goes limp and he drops like a sack of meat, half in the water and half out. His eyes bulge unmovingly, set on Kakashi.

"Well, I did."

A smaller figure speaks, appearing next to the fallen Zabuza and wearing a green outfit. A white mask with red wave-like markings on the lower half hides their visage; though you couldn't quite tell the gender either way, this person, this kid, seeming so androgynous.

Kakashi deactivates his lightning jutsu and walks over to check Zabuza's pulse, noting it absent.

"Yep. He's dead alright."

Naruto jumps forward and points acusingly at the newcomer,

"You did what?! And who are you, and how were you able to kill that guy so easily?! And-"

He's cut off by Sakura behind him, clobbering him once on the head. Kakashi explains what a hunter ninja of the mist is. As the hunter-nin lifts up the body and prepares to leave,

"Hm. Now I'm off to dispose of this one. You'll have to excuse me..."

Takamaru walks up casually,

"You need to work on your stealth. I spotted you on the branch, about a hundred meters northwest of us, before the mist thickened."

Haku ('cause lets face it, everyone knows at this point) pauses briefly, noticing the intensity of this boy's dark brown eyes.

"...Yes, thanks for the advice; though as a tracker, I was more concerned with Zabuza, than myself."

And the 'hunter ninja' departs.

Kakashi falls to a knee and places his headband back over his left eye. Sakura moves quickly to his side to aid him, asking,

"Are you alright? Did you get injured?"

Kakashi waves her off,

"Just a bit of chakra exhaustion. I'll be fine after a few days of rest. Let's get Tazuna home and see to the rest of the mission. We should be here for awhile. Until the bridge is complete, I imagine?"

Tazuna nods. And they resume their travel.

* * *

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Even if you succeed, it will just end badly for you... for both of you."

Takamaru warns both Sakura and Naruto as they stand on either side of their sleeping sensei. Their hands hover inches from the face mask. They both jump back as Kakashi's eye opens wide and he sits up suddenly.

"What are you two doing?"

Sakura and Naruto eye eachother nervously before Takamaru replies,

"Seeing to your condition, of course. You've been out cold for most of the day..."

Kakashi sheepishly rubs the back of his head,

"Heh. Guess that fight took more out of me than I thought. I must be getting old..."

He throws of the blankets and stands, straightening his outfit.

"I guess its time for training, then."

Naruto jumps out of his own shadow with cheer, pumping a fist into the air repeatedly.

"Whoooo! We finally get actual training! I guess this means we are awesome enough now, huh?!"

Sakura appraises this shift in Kakashi's attitude skepticly,

"Training? Why now?"

It was a question Takamaru would like to the answer too as well, electing to remain silent to hear it.

"Eh, well... there's no telling the next time we'll run into enemy shinobi and I want you guys to be prepared."

"Are you suggesting it may happen again before this mission is over?"

Kakashi's gaze turns downward at Takamaru's pointed question.

"Yes. And if I'm right, though this is only a hunch, Zabuza may return with a friend."

Takamaru's eyes close briefly, his smile hidden beneath his face wrap. He knew it. Particularly because of that hunter ninja. It didn't seem right that a hunter would merely scavenge a target. He nods lightly in agreement with Kakashi.

_Later, in the woods..._

Kakashi climbs down from the tree.

"And that is how you do it. I want you all to be able to climb up to that high branch there using only your feet. I'll stick around for a bit to see how you do."

Naruto makes to dash forward before Sakura steps in front of him.

"Let's make this interesting..."

Naruto grins wide at the implication.

"Let's bet on who will reach the branch first, you or me. The winner gets to decide where we go for our, _second_, date."

Sakura crosses her arms and let's Naruto mull it over for a moment. Then he speaks.

"You're on! I hope you like Ichiraku's, round two!"

As a matter of fact, she enjoyed round one. However, a ramen stand is not a good place for a 'date'. Thus, she will win this little contest, no sweat.

Takamaru smiles to himself. He isn't sure why, but he feels a little bit of joy in the progress these two are making as a couple. Maybe it's the way they get on with eachother while seeming a complete mismatch. But 'humor' doesn't quite describe his reaction.

A few minutes pass, and Sakura sits triumphantly atop her branch, throwing down the kunai their teacher had stuck on her tree. Naruto frowns at his defeat; and also at the thought of just the kind of place Sakura will want to go. It will surely cost him much. However, his expression fades to a grin. He is, after all, still going on a date with Sakura - the girl he had a crush on for years. Sakura gloats until she sees him smiling, and quickly glances away with a light blush.

Takamaru's progress isn't nearly as far as Sakura's. After the few minutes, he made it only halfway up the tree. Still leaps and bounds ahead of Naruto, though he doesn't consider the blond to be a decent measuring stick of his own capabilities. He walks up to Sakura's tree and waits for her to climb down. When she reaches the bottom, he asks,

"When your feet stick, are you pulling up with your chakra flow, or pushing down?"

Sakura's eyes go wide for a moment. Is she actually being asked for advice? There is something she knows that the number one rookie does not?! Putting on superior airs,

"Well, of course I'm pulling up. If you push down you'll just end up pushing yourself right off the tree!"

She takes on a proud stance with her hands on her hips, which Takamaru promptly ignores as he turns and walks away, his eyes looking down as he thinks deeply. She falters for a moment, having completely wasted her 'cool' pose. Kakashi grins awkwardly before speaking,

"Alright, since Sakura is the furthest ahead among you three, she will be guarding Tazuna. I'll see you two later, after you've completed this training exercise-"

Takamaru raises his hand, index finger extended,

"One moment."

He approaches his tree and centers himself with a few breaths. Lifting his right foot, he plants it right on the trunk. He leans in as he channels his chakra. Waiting for the right feel of adhesion, he then pulls himself upwards and plants his other foot. It sticks after a moment. He then allows his weight to shift back so that he is perpendicular to the ground. And he begins to climb. One foot in front of the other he ascends. Slow at first, with his arms held out to balance himself. By the time he reaches the branch with the kunai stuck to it, he's moving up the tree as if going for a brisk walk. And then he climbs onto the branch upside-down.

Sakura and Naruto look on in complete silence, enraptured by Takamaru's sudden mastery. Even Sakura had used a running start. And then Takamaru lets go of the branch, and it is Kakashi's turn to go wide-eyed. Exhausted, all the jonin can do before Taka hits the ground is take a few steps towards the boy. Much to his surprise, Takamaru lands on his feet in a crouch. His eyes question the boy, to which he replies,

"I've already been manipulating chakra through my feet for years. It comes in handy when you want your footsteps to make no noise, nor leave any imprint."

He rises to his feet. The look of shock still plasters the faces of his genin teammates. He shrugs, unsure of how to deal with their continued reaction. Kakashi clears his throat,

"Hrm. I guess that leaves just Naruto to work on this exercise."

Naruto slumps down, defeated utterly.

* * *

_Back at Tazuna's house..._

Little Inari walks in to find his mother taking care of dishes from a meal he likely missed. His eyes dart around to find it void of those who would've used so many plates.

"Who was here, ma?"

Tsuname turns to face her son with a light smile,

"You grandfather, and the shinobi he hired to protect himself with."

"Shinobi? Really? I thought we couldn't afford something like that..."

"Well, your grandfather is quite the negotiator. He's got four of them!"

"Hmph. Must be really crappy to get so many for not much..."

Inari scowls and folds his arms. His mother only smiles in response and continues her chore.

* * *

_The next day, at the bridge..._

Takamaru and Sakura walk the bridge while maintaining a loose eye on their charge. Kakashi, presumably, runs some errand or other; or perhaps recuperates back at the house. It is unknown to the two genin.

"You know..."

"-Don't say it!"

Sakura cuts off Taka abruptly. He waves a hand to motion for her to listen.

"It's not what you think. I was just going to say that perhaps our time would be better spent if you went and tutored our blond comrade."

"Oh,"

Sakura lets out,

"I thought you were going to bother me about that second date."

She blushes and looks away, both embarrassed and secretly hopeful.

"But I guess you're right. Naruto will never master that on his own."

"I'd give him more credit than that. I'm just pointing out that you could be doing more with your time than standing idly. It's the middle of the day, and my eyes work just fine without yours backing them up. So, go on, and drag that stick out of the mud. Don't go easy just because he's paying."

Takamaru shoos her off with another hand motion, giving her a smile only visible in the shape of his eyes. Sakura nods with determination and vanishes in a puff of smoke. Why did he feel like he just impersonated Kakashi? Perhaps he'd been around the jonin too long already.

Just then, the most beautiful woman that Takamaru has ever seen waltzes by in a deep purple kimono. It is an odd place to find one so dressed; and yet he can't take his eyes off of her. Her long flowing hair. That slender build. The confidence in her feminine stride. And then their eyes meet. He gives a warm smile, hidden beneath his face cloth. She nervously looks away and hurries along. He frowns slightly to himself. He mumbles,

"Guess I creeped her out..."

* * *

_A/N - I definitely intended to post this like, two weeks after the last chapter. However, I couldn't decide how I wanted to proceed. I have a rough idea of how the story plays out until shipuuden. Instead of one mega chapter spanning over 20k words, I decided to just post now what I've been sitting on for months (save for the last section). Reason for delay? Vidya games. Namely, MMOs._


	3. The Bridge pt 2

_A/N: Keep those comments a-comin'! Also, I have a few ideas for a pairing for Sasuke/Takamaru. Feel free to shoot me a PM with yer thoughts._

* * *

_Dinner that night..._

As Tazuna and his daugther with her son gather around the table, Kakashi and Takamaru take their seats. A moment later Sakura drags herself in with Naruto leaning on her for support.

"How did he do?"

Kakashi asks Sakura.

"Well, he made if off the ground today; but at his pace it will take the rest of the week."

Naruto grumbles tiredly before slumping into a chair. Sakura dusts off her shoulder instinctively, certain that the body was just exuding filth. And he definitely smelled awful after an entire day of training.

Immediately after Tsunami places out the food, her son breaks the silence.

"I'm not impressed. The leaf sent a bunch of brats to guard my granddad? Hmph! You're all just going to get yourselves killed!"

Kakashi raises an eyebrow, expecting Naruto to jump into with his usual hot-headed remarks. To his surprise, Takamaru replies first,

"And what if we do? It is the job of a shinobi to carry out the contracts brokered by their homeland. They assign us missions by rank, only applicable to the skill level we have obtained. If by unforeseen circumstances we are overwhelmed and killed in the line of duty, the responsibility falls to the ones who gave the orders. We are but tools of our nation."

At this, Inari stands up and slams his hands on the table on either side of his plate, causing it to jump and spill some of his food.

"There is nothing noble about death! The good die! The bad live! And everyone left behind suffers!"

Tsunami and Tazuna both frown deeply, Inari having reflected the fears of their own hearts as well. Takamaru, however, remains collected.

"You wouldn't be so angry about it, if you truly believed that..."

And at that, Inari storms out of the house. Tsunami steps forward but stops a moment later when Tazuna grabs her arm, calming her,

"Let the boy go. He's had it rough, as have we all. Nothing good will come by filling his head with dreams."

_Outside..._

Inari runs to the closest tree and slams fist into it as hard as his small muscles can muster. Water rings his eyes, blurring his vision as a thin, yet ambiguously-gendered figure appears before him.

"Little boy, why are you crying?"

"Those stupid shinobi! They're all going to die for nothing, and they accept it! Nothing will change for the better. They will fail, and my grandfather will die, too! And me and my mom will be even more alone!"

The figure edges in closer and places a hand gently on his shoulder.

"All things die, young one."

He pushes the figure's hand off, glaring.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

The figure shakes its head,

"Only if you can accept that. We don't get to change the world in the way that we wish; we can only cause waves and ripples."

"What does that even mean?! My father died for nothing! What did he accomplish?"

"You are still alive. Isn't that something?"

"But he isn't!"

The figure takes a step back, blending a bit against the surrounding shadows,

"If my death meant the life of the one I cherish, I would give it in a heartbeat. Wouldn't you do the same for your mother?"

Inari remains silent for a moment as he contemplates. He sniffles a bit as his posture relaxes.

"Yes... Yes, I would."

He nods franticly. The figure blends further into the night simply vanishes. Tears still cloud Inari's vision, but he can almost see a warm smile on the face of the consoling figure before he/she vanished. Inari slumps down next to the tree, hugging his knees to his chest as he thinks more deeply upon the words of the mysterious figure.

* * *

_The next day..._

"Dammit, Naruto! Are you even trying?!"

Sakura stomps towards the blond angrily with her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Naruto shrinks back, putting his hands up in front of himself defensively.

"Of course, Sakura! I'm just a slow learner! Maybe if you've got some hints for me..."

"I've already told you everything you need to know. It's not in your head, it's up to your feet to do the work!"

She points emphatically at Naruto, inches away from him. Silent for a moment, she then backs away and motions for Naruto to try again with a wave of her hand. Naruto turns about and rubs his hands together, psyching himself up for another attempt, although grumbling to himself,

"Hinata was more helpful..."

A twitch forms above one of Sakura's eyes. She sighs and responds in a low tone, exasperated,

"Then maybe you can take Hinata on your next date instead of me..."

Naruto freezes then abruptly turns about.

"I didn't mean it! You're really helpful! Honest! It's just...!"

Sakura's eye twitch seems to bulge,

"Just what, Naruto?"

Naruto fidgets for a moment, finding his words,

"It's just that, the night before the graduation exam, I was practicing my clone technique all night - barely missing it! And then she comes up and does this thing with her eyes!"

He motions with fingers around his eyes, lines leading away, squiggly.

"And she told me what I needed to do to pass! I made many, many clones, and quite a few were successes!"

Sakura brings a finger to her forehead in thought before replying,

"She had probably used her clan ability to assess your chakra flow, and determined that you were better off wasting more of your near-endless supply of chakra, than trying to use it efficiently. But that's exactly the point of this training! You can't just throw chakra at the tree and hope it sticks..."

Sakura sighs again, wracking her mind for a work-around to Naruto's total lack of finesse.

"Just keep trying..."

Naruto nods with renewed enthusiasm. And back to the tree he goes.

* * *

_Back at the bridge..._

Two red eyes beneath a metal plate etched with the konoha leaf watch the builders work . Takamaru practices prolonged use of his sharingan, and tests its effects on himself. The lack of a ninja village in this nation makes his jutsu use, rather innocuous. No doubt passer-bys will think his eyes strange, but no stranger than the presence of a shinobi. As each hammer swings, he can feel the muscles in his own body twitch in response, as if urging him to mimic the action perfectly. Too bad a hammer swing doesn't translate well into the use of his blade. Such a movement requires a weighted end to be effective. He calmly breathes as he regulates his chakra use. And then the beautiful girl walks by again.

He raises a hand to greet her, and she turns her head slightly to face him as she passes. Their eyes meet for moment, and hers go wide in surprise. She instantly stumbles forward and fails to recover her balance. Down she goes. Until Takamaru dashes foward and catches her in his arms. He can't help but hold her there for a moment, entranced, before lifting her upright and steadying her. Taka quickly removes his hands and scratches the back of his head nervously.

"Heh... that was a close one, Miss uh..."

"Your eyes..."

She remarks. Takamaru quickly deactivates his sharingan in response. No doubt the strange nature of his gaze unsettled her, he thinks.

"Ninja stuff. Nothing to worry about, see?"

He opens his eyes wide for her to witness their dark brown hue. She nods in affirmation.

"Mm. So... does that make you a shinobi, then?"

Takamaru smiles to himself. As if his outfit doesn't give him away. Then again, maybe plays featuring shinobi aren't so common in these parts. He nods, and offers a hand in greeting,

"I'm Takamaru. Nice to meet you."

The girl hesitates before offering her hand gently.

"Ha... Yuki."

"Hayuki?"

She smiles politely.

"Just Yuki."

Takamaru softly shakes her hand, then releases.

"Well-met, Yuki. I'm sorry if I startled you. Are you related to one of the workers, here?"

Yuki pauses for a moment, then nods.

"Yes. My... father is ill at the moment, and requested that I check in on progress. He should be back to full health by the end of the week."

"Ah, well, I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he returns to full strength."

Takamaru nods and Yuki smiles sweetly.

"Thanks. "

She waves farewell as she continues her way down the bridge. Takamaru, meanwhile, notes himself a successful social interaction that didn't end awkwardly.

* * *

_Night of the sixth day..._

"Zabuza, sir!"

Haku lands in a crouch before his master.

"Report, boy."

Zabuza relaxes on a sofa, his sword resting over his shoulder. Haku replies,

"The genin continue to guard the bridge. Their jonin, Kakashi, is nowhere to be seen. I suspect that he, too, needed to recuperate after the fight."

The demon of the mist nods his head. He brings up his free hand, flexing it.

"My body is nearly ready. Tomorrow, we move. Tazuna dies, we collect our payment from Gato, and we leave. I have a feeling the hunters will be on our tail soon."

Haku nods and turns to leave. He pauses, then turns back around. Zabuza,

"What is it? More?"

Haku reflects then speaks,

"How do you fight the sharingan?"

Zabuza smiles beneath his face wraps,

"Don't you worry about that. I'll take on Kakashi myself if he shows. I need to pay him back for the last fight."

Haku hesistates, but insists,

"But should I ever have to face a wielder of that bloodline..."

"Use your own ability, then! And avoid eye contact, even within the mists. A true master of the sharingan could kill you without even blinking. Literally. But their whole clan was wiped out by one of their own, or so the story goes. Heh. Not so different from your clan, huh?"

Haku reflects deeply and absently responds,

"Right, just like my clan..."

* * *

_Dawn of the seventh day..._

Takamaru awakens to the sound of Tazuna and family starting their day. As he finishes tightening fresh wrappings around his fingers, he looks over to see Kakashi awake and alert.

"Finally decided to do your job, huh?"

Kakashi stares at Takamaru, unimpressed.

"...Well, I'm not doing _your_ job. My job is to make sure you guys do yours. I'm a supervisor and instructor, not a baby-sitter. Although, for today I'll be doing performance reviews."

He eye-smiles at his last remark, hoping to elicit some form of humor from the boy. However, Takamaru remains serious.

"Whatever. Come watch me, watch him, watching the workers, watching me. "

The oddest snort issues forth from his jonin's mouth, abruptly ended when Kakashi covers his face with his hands. Takamaru raises an eyebrow, then turns away to continue the morning preparations.

"Uh... time to get up already?!"

Sakura sits up from her cot and rubs her eyes. She looks around and notices Naruto still dead asleep. Her eyes glance back at her more active companions questioningly.

"Hm... Let him rest. It will do him no good to train while exhausted,"

Kakashi asserts.

Sakura nods and joins them for the day's patrol.

_A half hour later..._

"CRAP!"

Naruto jumps out of bed, wide awake. He franticly readies his gear and bolts out of the door, heading for the section of woods he trains in. On his way, he notices several trees and wildlife slashed up pretty bad. Exercising his better judgement, he doubles back to the house...

* * *

_On the bridge, shortly after sunrise..._

"... I think he's got the hang of it. Naruto thinks I'm not always watching him, and he makes good progress during that time. I suspect he just wanted me around. Idiot..."

Sakura fumes to Kakashi, after being asked of Naruto's progress on the training exercise. The jonin nods,

"Then all three of you are at an acceptable level for your rank. Perhaps we'll tackle a real C-rank mission after this!"

Sakura smiles cheerfully while Takamaru just nods quietly in acknowledgement.

And then the mist rolls in.

"That's strange... the morning fog should've cleared away by now..."

Kakashi remarks before jumping into a defensive stance and readying a kunai.

"Sakura, Takamaru! Protect Tazuna!... We've got company."

"Heheheh... Very astute of you, copy-cat Kakashi!"

Zabuza shouts out, taunting. Haku as well as himself appear, outlined in the mist. Construction workers flee from the encroaching moisture in the air while Tazuna places himself securely between Taka and Sakura.

"That masked boy...? So he was working with you all along, huh?"

Kakashi asks. Sakura chimes in, motioning furiously

"Liar! Deceiver! Ooooh, when I get my hands on you...!"

Takamaru outstretches his left hand in front of pink-hair, interjecting,

"No. Leave him to me."

Taka pulls the sword from his back with his right hand, lowering it to his side. Sakura objecting,

"Hey! Don't go off acting cool! We'll both take him out!"

Takamaru shakes his head,

"I need you to protect Tazuna. No doubt Kakashi will be busy with the demon. I can handle his little pet."

Sakura twitches, annoyed; but relents, nodding. Takamaru moves away from the group towards the side of the bridge. Zabuza gives Haku a nod, who then vanishes from sight in a swirl of water.

The next moment, Haku appears before Taka, swinging a kunai for his throat. Taka raises his sword horizontally to block, then angling upwards to keep tension on the kunai as it connects, steel to steel.

"Not bad. My turn."

Takamaru responds by shoving back Haku, following up with a series of slashes. Haku ducks and weaves, sidesteps and back steps. As he raises a kunai to deflect a powerful mid-slash aimed for his chest, Takamaru feints the attack and straight-punches Haku dead in the face with his left fist. Haku flies back several feet but manages to catch himself from falling flat on his back.

Zabuza eyes Haku angrily,

"You lost that first exchange? Heh. I'm sure my tool is sharper than that. Why don't you show them?"

Haku nods and rises to his feet.

* * *

_Near Tazuna's house..._

Naruto stands with one foot on top of the slumped over would-be killers. He dusts off his hands and grins proudly. Inari wipes tears from his eyes,

"Th-thanks, Naruto!... If you hadn't been here, I don't know what they would've done to my mother! I... I want to be strong, like you."

Naruto scratches the back of his head, unsure how to react to such admiration. Jokingly,

"Ha! It was nothing! Besides, I train with a guy who actually knows how to use a sword, unlike these two clowns!"

Inari nods, regaining his composure and wiping away his tears.

"Thanks again..."

Naruto waves his hands franticly, starting to feel embarassed,

"Really! You don't need to cry! Your mom's fine. Why don't you get her back home, and I'll join my friends to make sure your grandpa is alright."

Inari nods again and helps his mother up. And Naruto bolts for the bridge.

* * *

_Back at the bridge..._

Blood drips from Takamaru's left hand, soaking the bandages bound around his fingers.

"A sharp blade is useless if wielded poorly."

He taunts. Zabuza, baited,

"Tch. Make his end long in coming."

Haku hesitates,

"I don't really want to kill them, but I will do as you command, Zabuza."

Haku darts forward for another attack, senbon in one hand. Takamaru responds by meeting his charge with a downward slice. Katana meets needle and stops. Taka waits for the follow-up attack for when Haku falls back; but to his surprise Haku begins to perfom a series of seals with his free hand.

**[1000 flying water needles of death]**

All the water in a ten foot radius lifts from the ground and forms, you guessed it, needles. As the needles take flight towards Takamaru, he again shoves away Haku. He, too, takes flight to evade the water spikes. Not quite high enough, however. A split second before being impaled, he channels chakra into the blade. With a swipe, he forms a weak shield between himself and the needles. They strike his amorphous shield and lose their form, splashing Taka. He lands fifteen feet away on his feet and shakes his head. Water drips from his clothing as she shudders from the cold.

**[Demonic mirroring ice crystals]**

Haku wastes no time in activating his next jutsu. The water once more rises around Takamaru and forms a barrier of mirrors about him a moment after he lands. In the next few seconds, the image of a masked Haku rises in each frame. Takamaru sighs,

"...Ah, crap."

* * *

"Heh. Looks your kid is done for, Copy-cat!"

Zabuza tries in vain to taunt Kakashi,

"I wouldn't be so sure. Takamaru is full of surprises."

Zabuza looks left and right cautiously before stating,

"I see that yellow-haired punk isn't here."

"Yeah. Naruto was a bit tired so we let him sleep. Didn't think we'd need him to take the likes of you for round two - even with your trick-or-treater over there."

The demon of the mists has had enough. He rushes forward with his blade held high to bring the fight to Kakashi. The huge slab of sharpened steel comes down and Kakashi blocks most of it with a kunai, though is cuts into his shoulder as a result. When Kakashi reaches for his headband to reveal his sharingan, Zabuza jumps back twenty or so feet and closes his eyes, activating,

**[Hidden mist jutsu]**

\- and the fog forms and thickens, concealing the demon quickly. Kakashi's sharingan darts back and forth in an attempt to track Zabuza's movements. When this fails,

"Behind you!"

He shouts to Sakura and Tazuna. Both promptly duck, choosing correctly at the executioner's blade narrowly misses cutting down the two of them. Kakashi responds by quickly throwing three kunai at the demon. Zabuza jumps and vanishes once more into the mist, taunting,

"I wonder how many more times you'll get lucky..."

* * *

"So, will the real fake hunter-nin, please step forward?"

Takamaru jokes to make light of his own plight. He can tell he won't enjoy what's about to happen, and so his eyes shift to red. Two tomoe in each eye mark his current level of proficiency. All the hands of the Haku mirror copies raises, holding senbon. Takamaru sighs, and Haku warns,

"The quicker you go down, the less this will hurt..."

And the senbon fly. The first few volleys, Takamaru evades and parries flawlessly. Not a single one marks him. But then Haku starts to throw more, and faster. Needle after needle hit just close enough to tear through his flesh. After a few more passes, Takamaru oozes blood from a few dozen cuts. And then it happens. From the distance, a low sound like a muffle yell. I gets closer. Pauses, then gets even louder as it approaches.

"eeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEE! - aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Everyone pauses - Zabuza, Kakashi, Haku, Takamaru, even Sakura and Tazuna. They all turn towards the source of the sound. Zabuza's jutsu falters and creates just enough visibility for an orange blur to come into view.

"HEEEEEERRRRREEE! IIIIIII! COOOOOOOOMMMEEE!"

Takamaru, upon realizing who it is,

"Naruto! Stop! I need you outsi-"

"Yo!"

Takamaru is interrupted by Naruto standing beside him with the dumbest smile on his face.

"Here I am, ready to save the day!"

Takamaru takes a deep breath, then replies,

"... and how are you going to do that, from _inside_ the mirror cage?"

Outside the ice mirrors, Sakura's jaw drops and Kakashi sweat-drops. Inside, Naruto scratches his head, standing awkwardly.

"Hee hee, we'll double-team 'em like last time!"

Takamaru shakes his head,

"That'd work, if we had some open field to maneuver around in. You being in here, has effectively halved the amount of space I have to work with."

Naruto, dumbfounded,

"Oh... well, how about this!"

**[Sexy jutsu]**

Fox boy transforms into his provocative female self, fully endowed and naught but a small puff of cloud for cover. He blows a kiss with his best pouty face. Haku responds with a fistful of senbon. Takamaru doesn't even try to block any of them. Three needles stick him straight in the chest, causing another puff of smoke. When it clears, Naruto is on the ground, plucking out the senbon.

"Agh! You don't know pain, until you've been hit in the -"

Takamaru kicks him in the side.

"You're lucky Sakura couldn't see that just now."

Naruto pales,

"Y-you... don't think she might've, do you?"

Takamaru offers him a hand and yanks him up.

"I don't hear her, so probably not."

Naruto nods, dusting himself off but getting a bit of blood smeared on his hands,

"Good, good. I just thought if we were fighting a guy with pervy notions, that'd work just now."

"Are you done?"

Haku asks. For some reason, he had paused long enough for Naruto to recover. Takamaru noticing,

"Yeah. And don't bother giving him the spiel. We _will_ take you down."

Takamaru attempts to make eye contact with Haku to hypnoticly suggest defeat, but can't seem to lock gazes with the real one.

* * *

"Another lamb to the slaughter!"

Zabuza shouts, re-casting his jutsu, further thickening the mist.

Sakura, meanwhile, gets the oddest anger-inducing itch above one of her eyes, like it wants to twitch on her. Strange, that only happens when Naruto pisses her off.

Kakashi merely readies his kunai. His thoughts keep bringing him back to the kids' fight. His eyes dart over every other second, distracting him momentarily. And in that moment, Zabuza strikes. He jumps in with a thrust kick to Kakashi, sending him flying upwards long enough for a follow-up attack. But rather than hit the jonin, he goes for Sakura and Tazuna, his sword swinging horizontally to cut the two in half.

Sakura responds by back-stepping into Tazuna, focusing chakra into her feet for grip against the wet concrete of the bridge, and shoving back against the bridge-builder. Tazuna falls back, but Sakura, stuck in position to the bridge, can only lean further back to try to dodge the blade. She doesn't fully succeed. A large gash to the upper part of her stomach sends blood spraying from the wound and she immediately falls to a knee. One hand on the ground and the other pushing against her gaping wound. Her eyes, so determined until this moment, begin to close as she coughs up blood.

"Sakura! NO!"

Kakashi watches in horror, immediately responding by activating his lightning blade,

**[Chidori]**

\- as he lands, aiming for Zabuza. The demon jumps back deftly,

"One down!"

Naruto and Takamaru abruptly turn in the direction of their companion. Naruto, before he can utter a word, receives two senbon to the throat and drops, seemingly dead. Takamaru turns his head enough to catch the two meant for him in his peripheal. He knocks them out of the air and turns to face Haku once more, who apologizes,

"I'm sorry for your friends... but I assure you, my way isn't as painful, if you just give up."

Takamaru's eyes seem to bulge, the veins bloodshot. And the two tomoe become three in each eye.

* * *

_a/n: cliffhanger! What you think will happen next, may or may not happen. Alas, you will have to wait until it is written! mu-ah ha ha? The arc concludes next chapter, and will flow into the start of the chuunin exam!_


	4. The Pre-exam

_a/n: Are you ready? Well, here we go..._

* * *

It isn't anger.

No. That isn't it at all.

It's that room. Those bodies. The odd eyes. Blackness, and searing pain.

It's survival.

Takamaru's heart races as the adrenaline courses through his veins. His awakened perception warps time itself. Haku's hand draws out three senbon. The arm extends and the projectiles take flight. Then Haku proceeds to move from one mirror to the next, drawing out three more senbon as he does so. He hits the next mirror and once more launches a trio of the darts towards Takamaru. Taka's eyes follow flawlessly. His sword raises and knocks away the first barrage with the flat of his blade, one senbon after the next. The next set he side-steps, the senbon narrowly missing. Not a wasted movement by Takamaru.

And so the exchange continues during the remainder of Haku's assault. Takamaru parries and evades each time. His movements blur, flowing like a shadow, almost as if he knows how Haku will strike next. 'But that's impossible,' Haku thinks, 'I shouldn't be hypnotized.'

"I won't be killed by the likes of you. Besides, I actually kind of like the cold."

Takamaru speaks defiantly, making light of the situation without a trace of humor in his voice.

Haku thinks quickly. The only way to bring down this boy with the sharingan would be to create an opening, a diversion. And so he marks his target. With a burst of chakra Haku moves to the next mirror and launches another volley, this time at the downed Naruto. Takamaru, still turning around to face the mirror with the real Haku, notices the senbon aimed for his companion. And he looks away from Haku. It's only for a moment, but its all the opportunity Haku needs. He lunges forth with another burst of chakra. His hand extends towards eye-level with but a single senbon gripped tightly. Takamaru's sword intercepts the senbon aimed for Naruto, and his eyes flick back to see a needle inches away. He leans back, pushing his muscles to try to match the speed of the masked boy. His arms bring the sword from his waist-level, swinging it upwards.

But Haku is too close. Takamaru's action becomes a pommel strike rather than an upwards slash. His leaning back is not enough to evade Haku's reach. And yet, that is moot when his sword pommel connects with the bottom of Haku's chin. The force of the strike stuns Haku, who drops his senbon and goes limp, flying upwards. Takamaru's motion continues upwards, and the sword's handle pries the mask off Haku's face.

Haku recovers by leaning away into a backflip and landing several feet away in a kneel. Takamaru lunges foward with a stab aimed for the middle of Haku's face, when their eyes meet. The tip of the sword stops a few inches from Haku's face.

"Yuki...?"

Takamaru's hesitation allows for Haku to respond swiftly. Seeing no other alternative to fight the awakened sharingan, Haku makes one last determined effort. With as much chakra as he can muster, he blasts forth from the kneeling position, flying under Taka's sword, and spears him in the gut with his shoulder charge. Takamaru, completely caught by surprise at the technique so lacking in finesse, lifts right off his feet as the two glide towards the guard-rail of the bridge. The momentum carries them right into it, then right over. Haku strikes his head and goes unconscious. Takamaru, unfamiliar with chakra control enough to land on the water, takes a deep breath as they both plunge into the tumultuous waves below.

* * *

The demonic ice mirrors crack and shatter into thousands of pieces, raining down on Naruto like sleet. At once, both Kakashi and Zabuza look over to see their two prodigies missing. Zabuza the more surprised,

"He lost?! Impossible!"

Though Kakashi did not have faith enough that Takamaru would win, he never the less thanks fate and takes full advantage of Zabuza's shock. The sound within the mist all but paints a target on the Demon. Kakashi rushes forward with his raikiri and thrusts his hand through Zabuza's chest. The water clone disperses and Kakashi abruptly turns about, thrusting his hand out once more. The real Zabuza with blood-shot eyes stands for a moment, his blade raised high. Kakashi withdraws his hand, arm covered in blood. Zabuza's great blade falls and sticks into the ground, and then the demon sinks to his knees. He falls back with a dull thud on the concrete, eyes turned up, lifeless.

As the mist clears, a rather large group can be seen on the far end of the bridge. Standing at the front of the miscreant band, a rather short man, aged, one of his arms in a cast. He begins to proceed at a casual pace, the mob following.

"Keh! I didn't really expect the 'great demon of the mist' to lose, but you've saved me the trouble! I was going to have him finished off after your fight, anyway!"

As the crowd draws closer towards Tazuna and Sakura, still barely conscious, Kakashi lifts the sword known famously as 'Kubikiribōchō' from the bridge and slings it over his shoulder. His countenance grows increasingly both somber and threatening.

"Not another step..."

Gato flinches, then smirks.

"You're bluffing! You must be utterly exhausted! Men! Kill Everyone!"

He points forward, and the mob charges. Lightning arcs around the great blade before Kakashi dashes forward in a blur. And the slaughter begins. As body parts and blood fly everywhere, the advance of the mob is slowly pushed back. Should one find their way forward, they suddenly find themselves short something they were formerly attached to.

Sakura looks over to see Naruto lying on the ground, glistening in the early morning sun due to the ice crystals covering his form. She reaches out her free hand and weakly speaks,

"Naruto... I'm sorry..."

Tazuna, nodding, assists Sakura in hobbling along towards the blond, and sets her down next to him. Sakura scoots herself over to his side and pulls the senbon from his throat. She lays herself down, resting on her side pressed against him. Her free hand moves up to his chest and grips his jacket lightly.

"..I... No. _We_, need to get stronger, Naruto... so that this doesn't happen again."

She coughs, more blood dribbling down the side of her face.

"... if we survive this..."

And her consciousness drifts away, redness over-taking her sight. Her last thought, 'Huh... I must have blood in my eyes...'

* * *

_Dusk, down by the water's edge..._

Takamaru tears away the ragged sections of his clothing, leaving little more than hand and feet wraps, and what could pass as a loincloth. Atleast he'll dry fast. The sun sets, and he feels a chill begin to come over himself. He looks at the ground where Haku lay and notices how his clothes still seem to be whole. Given the nature of jutsus of those from the mist, its little wonder they hold up under long periods of saturation. The simple fabric his attire was crafted from had no special consideration. He considers nabbing the clothes and leaving the corpse to rot in the open when Haku's facial features scrunch up. His hand comes up and rub the top of his head. Takamaru steps back and quietly draws his sword from its scabbard. Atleast that had stuck with him.

"Mmm... oooohhh... I think this feels like what you'd call a hangover, Zabuza..."

Haku opens his eyes and looks over at Takamaru with sudden surprise. Before he can react, Takamaru has the tip of his katana pricking the soft flesh of Haku's throat. Haku freezes in place, but asks,

"Who... are you?"

Takamaru doesn't speak, instead opting to shift his eyes red, the sharingan glowing in the twilight. Haku remains still for a moment longer before pressing another question,

"Okay. I suppose you'll be trying to get out of the land of waves alive. You can't kill me here, or you'll have no leverage when you come across Zabuza."

Takamaru's expression darkens as he replies,

"I doubt the demon lives. Without your help this time, he's probably cold by now."

Haku looks away, accepting the truth of his words. Then,

"But prisoners of war are valuable to the leaf, surely."

Takamaru shakes his head,

"You are a missing nin. Your value as a bargaining chip is minimal."

Haku thinks for a moment, then asks,

"Then why haven't you killed me already? I killed your friend."

Takamaru shakes his head again,

"No, you didn't. I saw his chakra flowing despite what you did to incapacitate him. I suspect it's the same technique you used on Zabuza."

Haku looks down and nods, secretly relieved.

"I wasn't sure if he'd live... "

"-But he did. And now the question becomes, do you?"

Takamaru interrupts. He moves the tip of the swords from Haku's neck and flicks it upwards, motioning for Haku to stand. Haku unsteadily rolls over and gets to his feet. He once again rubs the back of his head. Then taking a deep breath, he outstretches his hands and closes his eyes,

"No. If Zabuza is dead, then I have nothing left in this world. I have failed as a tool to my master and have lost my most precious thing in this world. So, strike true."

After a few moments with nothing happening, Haku opens his eyes once more to see Takamaru placing his sword back in its scabbard and placing it on his back. When Haku looks at him questioningly, Taka responds,

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You know things I do not. Techniques I wish to possess. And the way I see if, you owe me a debt for not just letting you drown in the waters."

Haku immediately speaks,

"I wish you had."

Takamaru glares,

"You don't get a second life! Second chances, but once you're dead, you're dead! If you have noone to live for but yourself, then that is what you do!"

Haku's eyes go wide,

"... Is that what you do? Do you live only for yourself? Is there noone precious to you?"

Takamaru's eyes sharpen, and he releases the sharingan,

"I live for justice. I live to avenge those who were murdered. I live to kill the one who did it. Only then can I live for myself, as you put it."

Haku's face turns to sadness,

"Revenge, then? You will only continue the cycle upon yourself, to be killed by someone else some day. When you kill someone, you inflict that same need on those left still alive who cared for the one you killed..."

Takamaru shakes his head slowly, frowning,

"... Then I would only be turning my blade upon myself after he is dead. There is noone else left to care for that monster."

Haku reaches out a hand sympatheticly, placing it on Taka's shoulder. Remembering the loss of his own family,

"So it is, then."

Removing his hand and grinning warmly,

"But hey! I now have something to do! Maybe I can start by teaching you how to pass as a girl when spying! Hee hee!"

Takamaru's jaw drops as he backs up a step,

"Y-you mean... you're _not_ a girl?!"

Haku's smile widens, revealing a toothy grin,

"What? You didn't fall in love with me, did you?"

Takamaru's cheeks redden, splotches showing through the scar tissue on his face,

"Uh... that was one beautiful transformation jutsu..."

His eyes cast downward, reflecting sadly for a moment.

And the two proceed.

* * *

_At the dwelling..._

Haku pulls out an odd looking outfit: a hunter-nin mask, black hooded jacket, green slacks, and default shinobi sandals. Takamaru grabs them begrudingly,

"The only clothes you can spare? Really?"

Haku smiles,

"The only ones that will fit you."

Takamaru grumbles and dons the outfit, save the mask. He holds it in his hands for a few seconds before deciding on a few design changes. Haku nods and heads off to the shower room, and Taka begins working. After about ten minutes, his redesign of the hunter mask is complete. Where previously there was a red wavy swirl design, there is now a black flame starting from the bottom of the mask and flicking its way up over the right eye hole. The mist symbol has been sanded off and is now, proudly, that of the leaf.

Deciding to test Haku's detection abilities, he stalks his way to the showers. It'd be fun to give Haku a good scare to make up for the earlier teasing, he thinks. Step by step he approaches. Channeling his chakra carefully, each foot landing is as a feather falling. Then comes the door. Sliding action, no hinges or wheels. Ever so slowly he works it open. When its wide enough to slip through, he does so. He drops to a crouch as he nears the shower. Almost there. His hand reaches for the door. His fingers wrap around the handle, oh so carefully. And then he jerks the door open and jumps in the opening. He activates his sharingan as he does so to permanently imprint the look of Haku's face, shocked.

Well, he isnt' entirely disappointed. He does get a shocked reaction out of Haku. Her eyes go wide in shock as her hands move to cover herself. Being the silent type, she doesn't scream at the invasion of privacy. However, this doesn't stop her from freezing the water all around her and sending a few hundred ice spikes hurtling towards Takamaru. Takamaru is momentarily confused as to why Haku would shower transformed. And then it hits him. The realization, not the ice spikes. Those, he dodges with a quick side-step.

"Sorry!"

He yells as he sprints back into the other rooms and finds a good place to hide. Haku comes out with a towel wrapped around her slender form. Her eyes scream murder as she says,

"Takamaru... come out! I just want to talk!"

Takamaru, knowing better, does no such thing. After another half hour of Haku stalking around the dwelling, she gives up and finishes her shower. The rest of the night is spent underneath the bed, waiting for daylight. Surely she will have cooled off by then, he hopes.

* * *

_The next day..._

Takamaru and Haku arrive at the bridge. Takamaru in his new outfit, and Haku wearing the purple kimono she used to scout the bridge previously, her hair down. At their approach, a few villagers walk up to meet the duo. One steps forward saying,

"Sorry, the bridge is closed today. Ugh, it'll take the rest of the day to clean up all the gore..."

Haku addresses them,

"I apologize, but, what happened to Tazuna and the ninja who accompanied him?"

The man responds,

"Uh, Tazuna's alright. That older ninja cleaned up Gato's men real good - not a single survivor! Even Gato! But he didn't stick around. He took the two younger ones with him off in a hurry. Neither of those kids looked in too good of shape; but they weren't dead. Gosh, I sure hope they make it alright..."

"And the two ninja that showed up at the bridge, working for Gato?"

"Dead, so far as I heard. We only burned the bigger one's body."

Haku nods as Takamaru steps foward,

"Well, you can tell Tazuna that Takamaru made it back. If you see him before I do, tell him I will finish the job and he can expect me here tomorrow."

"Ah, okay then. Will do."

The workers nod and head back to their dirty work on the bridge. Takamaru turns to Haku and lifts up a hand.

"I know what you'll be teaching me today."

Haku looks at his hand, then meets his eyes,

"Something to do with your hand...?"

Taka shakes his head,

"No, yours. I remember how you used a jutsu with one hand. Due to my... disability, it would greatly improve my combat ability."

Haku tilts her head questioningly. Takamaru lift his left hand and cycles through the twelve seals. His right hand has no issue flowing into each gesture, while the left moves slowly and strained, as if each movement is against great resistance. Haku nods solemnly.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah. When I survived the fire, my left was particularly scorched. The muscle is damaged and the scar tissure further restricts the flexibility of my fingers."

"Then let's take a walk."

Haku grabs Takamaru's left hand with her right, locking her fingers between his. Takamaru blushes beneath his mask and nods lightly. Haku starts her lesson by raising her free hand and bringing up half the hand seal for 'tiger'. Takamaru understands and raises his right hand to form the other half of the seal. Haku smiles warmly, and so the lesson goes.

* * *

_En route to the leaf..._

"Pakkun! Have any of the other dogs found Takamaru yet?"

The dog and his master, Kakashi, bound through the trees. The two genin are tied to his back, leaning over either shoulder. Pakkun replies,

"I wouldn't know yet! You'd have to unsummon me to talk with the others."

Kakashi shakes his head,

"Then I won't know until later tonight. I've got to keep moving to get these two back."

Pakkun sniffs the air,

"Those two should be alright. Both of their wounds are healing fast. But I thought only Naruto held the fox within him."

Kakashi explains,

"Yeah, but I'm guessing it's a sympathetic response, given their proximity. Anyway, they're not out of the woods yet. Naruto may have suffered nerve damage, and Sakura could still become infected. It's safer to make it back to the village and have them checked out. "

Pakkun grunts in agreement, and the two increase their pace.

**(line break)**

_At Konoha Hospital, two days later..._

"uuuuhhnnnn..."

Sakura's eyes open slowly. Inches in front of her face is Naruto. Her eyes shoot wide open and she panics momentarily. After a moment of recalling the events leading up to this, she steadily sits up, and throws her legs over the side of the bed. Her hand reaches up to the wound on her stomach, bandages tightly wrapped around her midsection. Thankfully, the wrappings appear white; which means she's not still bleeding. She looks back at Naruto who lies there peacefully on his back, either sound asleep or comatose. As she steps out of bed a nurse walks by. She immediately flags the woman down,

"Hey! Excuse me! I have a few _questions_!"

The nurse blinks in surprise, then nods.

"Yes, of course. I'll grab a doctor, and they'll be here in a few minutes."

Sakura stands dumbfounded. She spots a chair and sits to wait patiently. After the few minutes, a doctor arrives,

"Hello there, Miss Haruno! I see you are awake and moving around! This is good news. Of course, we'll have to do a full exam, to insure there are no complications, and you'll be staying here for the rest of the week to-"

"Why was I in the same bed as Naruto? That's not typical hospital procedure."

The doctor eyes down at his chart nervously,

"Ah, well. About that. The boy you were with, Mister Uzumaki, has special chakra properties related to his, er, bloodline. This chakra, we found, is beneficial to the recovery of bodily wounds. As yours was severe, and that you were already benefiting, for a few days, from his, uh... _presence_, we decided it was in your best interest to bed you together. Don't worry, nothing untoward you has happened, or would, really. The boy is quite comatose."

Sakura, slightly annoyed,

"And why isn't he better yet?"

"The nerves in his spinal cord were... nicked, resulting in a temporary coma due to swelling of the effected area. It will take a few more days atleast before he recovers, but he shouldn't be worse the wear. We'll check him thoroughly when he awakens, but if his medical history is to believed, he has no long-lasting injuries to speak of, despite numerous visits to this facility. Will that be all, Miss Haruno?"

Sakura nods. Even though these 'answers' merely provide her with more questions, they are things best dealt with later. The doctor motions for her to follow, and she does so. As she exits the room, Kakashi, standing by the doorway,

"After you two recover, I'll be increasing your training, No missions for awhile until I think you're up for another C-rank. And if you're wondering where Takamaru is, he's still in the land of waves. He'll return when the bridge is finished. Lucky for you guys, that'll put a 'mission complete' on your records."

Sakura waves him off,

"It's only a complete mission if we all make it back alive. So you can bet I'll be kicking Naruto's butt to make him stronger!"

The look of determination in her eyes fills Kakashi with a quiet pride.

* * *

_A month later, in the Land of Waves..._

"Well, that's it! The bridge is finished!"

Tazuna announces to his family and the crowd of construction crew. Takamaru and Haku stand near the back, both loaded with travel gear. Tsunami leans in to her father Tazuna, asking,

"But what are you going to call the bridge?"

Tazuna rubs his chin.

"Hm... couldn't really go with 'The Leaf Bridge'. That'd definitely confuse people. They wouldn't know where they are! No... How about, 'The Great Naruto bridge!... 'Cause of how this was such a pain in the butt to build!'"

He waits a moment before the crew breaks out laughing. Tsunami nudges her Tazuna,

"Father..."

Her chiding eyes tell him he needs to come up with a _real_ name. So he clears his throat and tries again,

"Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, 'The Great Kakashi Bridge!' For without that shinobi, we'd all surely have perished..."

He rubs the back of his head nervously. The atmosphere grows uneasy for a moment, before others among the crowd speak up, cheering their approval, leading to a round of applause. Haku looks towards Takamaru, curious of his opinion. His answer,

"It's as good as any other. All I did was stay alive. It seems to be what I'm best at."

Haku sighs, then,

"Shall we go?"

Takamaru eyes Haku for a moment,

"I'm heading back to my village. You can go where ever you like."

Haku just nods, and walks side by side with Takamaru.

* * *

_A few days later, at the Leaf village gate..._

"Tch! Takamaru is taking his time in getting back here! He must be getting soft, bein' on vacation for the past month! While we trained our asses off! I bet I could take him, now!"

Sakura's eye twitches in response to Naruto's bolster. Naruto, catching on to Sakura's annoyance, quickly laughs and nervously fidgets,

"Ah... I mean, _we_ could take him! Especially you!"

Sakura sighs, closing her eyes momentarily. When she opens them again, she strikes a pose with her right fist raised in front, her left hand gripping her bicep. Determination gleams in her face,

"Oh yeah!"

Naruto, like some sort of hype-man, joins in with fist-pumping into the air,

"YEEEAAAH!"

"What's got you two so excited?"

From behind them approaches a boy in a black hooded robe-like jacket, wearing a mask with a black flame pattern. Next to him stands a young woman dressed formally in a purple kimono. Naruto stops mid-celebration,

"Eh...? Who are you?"

Sakura also questions the pair with a raised eyebrow. To which the masked boy replies, by grabbing the hilt of the sword on his back. Naruto instinctively ducks back, confused. Only a moment later does he guess,

"... Takamaru?"

Takamaru nods and lowers his hand back to his side.

"Yes, and it was just plain rude to ignore me as I walked past a minute ago. I even looked in your general direction."

Naruto cocks his head to the side, trying to remember if he saw Takamaru a few moments ago, when Sakura chimes in,

"It's normal to greet your friends when you haven't seem them in a month! But you! you look completely different! And you're traveling with a woman! How in the heck are we supposed to know?!"

Haku smiles, giggling politely. Takamaru responds,

"Hmph. I guess those are valid points. I forgive you."

"Forgive us?! I'll show you _forgiveness_!"

As Sakura makes to move forward with a fist raised, ready to strike, Naruto jumps between them,

"So, who's your girlfriend?"

The interruption stalls Sakura's advance, as she holds back, also intrigued. Takamaru auspiciously motions towards Haku,

"This is Yuki. She was a daughter of one of the workers who died."

Haku out-stretches her hand,

"A pleasure to meet you. Naruto and Sakura, right? Takamaru has told me so much about you."

In truth, Taka was rather silent the whole month, only mentioning them in passing. But, manners. Naruto, then Sakura shake her hand. The tension gone, Takamaru clarifies,

"And she isn't my girlfriend, just a traveling companion. The roads are relatively safe, but since we were headed in the same direction, I thought it'd be best to travel with her."

Haku, oddly annoyed,

"It was actually my idea. If I remember correctly, you said that I could go where ever I like. And I chose to walk with the boy with the pretty eyes. And you're so cute when you play hard to get."

Takamaru freezes up, as if suddenly drenched in ice water. The other two notice and break out laughing. Haku giggles as well, giving Takamaru the most devilish look, as if to say 'got you'.

* * *

_One week before the start of the chunin exams..._

"Heh, boss, is she, y'know..."

Konohamaru shakes his hand with his pinky finger out. Naruto blushes, glances over Sakura, then back to Konohamaru,

"Well, we _have _gone out on a couple dates..."

Konohamaru freezes in shock, his eyes going wide,

"Seriously?! Woah, yer cooler than I thought!"

Sakura, getting annoyed,

"Yeah, only two! He'd have to win another bet, and I'm not making any!"

Konohamaru, still feeling mischievous, turns around and implies to Sakura,

"Well, I'm just a kid, but I still know what happens after the third date..."

Sakura's eyes go wide this time, and she turns as pale as a ghost. 'Third date' echoes in her mind, bringing up a repressed memory. Naruto, fully aware of the aftermath, leans in to Konohamaru fearfully,

"Run!"

The ninja-in-training falters for a moment, before Sakura lets out a blood-curdling scream. Her hair seems to rise up as chakra swirls about her,

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And then Konohamaru takes off in a flash. Sakura breathes heavily for a moment, raggedly as her rage settles briefly. She too bolts, chasing after the young boy. Naruto shakes his head, traling after,

"Ah, man..."

_At a ramen shop nearby, possibly called 'Ichirakus'..._

Takamaru sighs, then places his chopsticks down on the table. Teuchi approaches and asks,

"Done already, Taka?"

Takamaru shakes his head,

"Nope. But that scream you probably just heard means its time to soothe the beast. Again."

He shakes his head and vanishes from his seat, a few bills left in his place.

_Back to the chase..._

Konohamaru blindly rounds the corner and bashes his face against the chest of an older boy, all dressed in black. He bounces back and lands on his butt. He shakes his head in an attempt to get his bearings when he is suddenly lifted by the collar of his shirt and comes face to face with Kankuro. His painted eyes glare. Though Konohamaru can't seem any less afraid of him as he warns,

"Let me go! She's coming and I've got to get outta here!"

Kankuro clenches his teeth before threatening,

"I don't care who 'she' is, I'm the one you should be afraid-"

In one instant, Kankuro speaks coolly, in the next he's flying backwards with a broken nose. His hands are emptied of their possession. He lands and recovers to his feet quickly, checking his nose with one hand, grabbing the wrapped doll on his back with the other,

"You bitch!"

"Kyaaa!"

Sakura slams Konohamaru into the ground head first, rendering him unconscious. Her rage unsated, she next glares at Kankuro. Though before Kankuro can unveil Karasu, Temari moves behind him, firmly placing a hand on his shoulder. When he turns back, Temari shakes her head, and so he holds off momentarily.

In the next moment, Takamaru stands in between them, facing his pink-haired team mate,

"Sakura, look at me."

Subconsciously she does so, and her eyes go blank. Exhausted, she too loses consciousness and slumps forward. Takamaru catches her and lifts her in his arms. His eyes shift back to normal as he turns to face the duo. He nods his head slightly,

"I apologize on behalf of my friend. She can get little... _cranky_."

Naruto rounds the corner to find the scene unfolding. His first thought upon seeing Sakura unconscious is to assume the worst, He glares at Kankuro and moves to charge in.

"Naruto. Stop."

Takamaru issues his order to the blond. Naruto halts beside Takamaru uneasily. Kankuro, meanwhile, has other intentions. He shrugs off Temari's hand and slams the wrapped Karasu down in front of him.

"Don't make me kill you Kankuro."

This time it's the puppet-master's turn to freeze in place. Nervously, he returns the doll to his back,

"S-sorry, Gaara..."

"Don't be sorry. And don't be stupid."

Temari turns around to face their brother in an attempt to placate him,

"It's alright, brother, he was just joking around, right Kankuro?"

Kankuro nods, quivering. Gaara, unimpressed,

"Shut up Temari. You."

He points to Takamaru,

"What is your name?"

Naruto moves to introduce himself when he suddenly finds Sakura thrust into his arms, Takamaru stepping forward,

"I am called Takamaru."

Temari snorts, and upon failing to control herself, breaks out in laughter. A quick glare from Gaara shuts her up, though.

"Why is that funny to you?"

Takamaru asks. Gaara replies,

"Forgive my sibling's rudeness. I am Gaara of the desert. We are here to participate in the chunin selection exams run by your village."

Takamaru reflects for a moment, 'yes, they do run at about this time of year...', then responds,

"... Then I guess we will see you there. I'll remember your name."

Gaara nods,

"And I'll remember yours. For now."

And he vanishes in a swirl of sand. Temari and Kankuro wander off to their destination, leaving behind Naruto and Takamaru. Naruto turns to Taka and asks,

"The chunin selection exams?... Of course we're ready to kick ass! But, why hasn't Kakashi said anything to us?"

A hand slowly reaches up Naruto's chest and harshly grasps his collar,

"That's because, they notify the other nations months ahead of time!"

Naruto, startled by Sakura's sudden awakening, quickly sets her down. She stands and brushes herself off, commenting,

"I guess we have a certain jonin to push the screws to, right boys?"

The two nod, and begin their search.

* * *

_The day of the exam..._

"We're just saving you guys from the brutality of the exam! We doubt any of you have what it takes to pass, let alone survive!"

Team Seven arrives in time to see Rock Lee knocked to the ground for the... however many times it takes to get covered in scrapes and bruises. Sakura chuckles to herself before stepping forward, boldly pointing at Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Let us pass! We're headed for the third floor!"

Naruto squints his eyes at the sign on the door, reading '201'. He turns back to Sakura, who continues,

"And drop the genjutsu, while you're at it!"

Takamaru closes his eyes briefly in relief. At least he didn't have to be the one to draw attention on himself. Kotetsu replies,

"Tch. You're pretty good. Well, how about this!"

He rushes forward to deliver a kick to Sakura. Takamaru watches it happen in slow motion. If it appears that Sakura can't put up a defense, he'll jump in. A blur at the corner of his vision catches his attention, however, as Rock Lee moves in to intercept Kotetsu. The blue beast's hand blocks the kick effortless, sending the fake-genin sprawling onto the floor. Takamaru's first thought being,' how in the hell did he do that?'

"Hey, what happened to not sticking out, Lee?"

Neji asks, irritated. Lee slumps and shrugs,

"Weeellll..."

His eyes rolls over in Sakura's direction. Neji gets the hint but is not amused. Neji motions for Tenten to follow as he walks away. Tenten glances over at Team Seven, her eyes stop on Takamaru for a brief second, and she pauses,

"Nah, you guys go on ahead, I'll be right there."

Rock Lee's eyes go wide. That was just what he was about to say. It'd be totally uncool to hang back now. He'll just have to confess to Sakura later.

When the masses depart for the third floor, Tenten walks right up to Takamaru,

"Hi! I haven't seen you in a few months..."

A slight blush appears to her cheeks as she addresses her friend. Takamaru pauses, about to ask how she knew, when he remembers their last encounter,

"...The eyes, right..."

He motions to his face and chuckles.

"I've been getting quite a bit of use out of this beauty."

Takamaru draws out his katana and presents it to Tenten, who briefly examines it,

"Well, at least you're keeping it sharp this time."

She returns the blade. Takamaru re-sheathes it and nods,

"Yeah. It's a good baldric, too. Stayed with me, even when the rest of my gear was lost."

Tenten smiles warmly,

"Mhm. Oh, come find me after the exam. I have a present for you!"

"The sword?"

Tenten grins widely,

"You'll just have to wait and see!"

And she bounds off to join her team. Takamaru does the same soon after.

When he finally catches up, he finds Sakura red in the face and Naruto grinning like a fool.

"What happened to you guys?"

Sakura, flustered,

"That Rock Lee guy came onto me, and I wasn't thinking! I told him Naruto was my boyfriend, and now this idiot won't stop looking stupid!"

Takamaru looks back to Naruto, who manages a few unintelligible noises in reply. After a moment, he comments,

"Cute. Now let's get this exam started..."

And they walk through the door.

* * *

_a/n: cover image incoming. Worry not. And thanks for the reviews, they are much appreciated._


End file.
